


Revival

by Jcat06172



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, M/M, Origin Story, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovery, Violence, poor baby Remus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-04-23 13:07:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 26,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14333091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jcat06172/pseuds/Jcat06172
Summary: Remus is just a small boy when he is bitten, this story follows his life from the moment that happened, through his time at Hogwarts, all the way to the end of the second war.





	1. How He Began

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is going to be a marathon fic. I'm going to try and post once a week. Right now though, I am in an extremely high stress environment which means that I won't have as much time to write as I will in a few months. During the summer, I'm going to try for two chapters a week. Hope you enjoy! Thank you for reading! Comments and criticism always welcome!  
> *every character, idea, scene, and word that belongs to our queen Rowling is hers. I only clame ownership of my OC's.  
> Also, there is a violent scene in the middle, if this is not something you wish to read, then when you see this: *** scroll until you see this *** summaries at the bottom.  
> Also, thank you to dweeblet for being an amazing beta!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, this is going to be a marathon fic. I'm going to try and post once a week. Right now though, I am in an extremely high stress environment which means that I won't have as much time to write as I will in a few months. During the summer, I'm going to try for two chapters a week. Hope you enjoy! Thank you for reading! Comments and criticism always welcome!  
> *every character, idea, scene, and word that belongs to our queen Rowling is hers. I only clame ownership of my OC's.  
> Also, there is a violent scene in the middle, if this is not something you wish to read, then when you see this: *** scroll until you see this *** summaries at the bottom.  
> Also, thank you to dweeblet for being an amazing beta!

Remus Lupin had been just a boy when he had been bitten. It was late afternoon, and he was walking the three blocks home from school when he had been grabbed from behind. Two strong hands gripped his shoulders, and yanked him off his feet into the alley. Remus opened his mouth to cry for help, but someone stuffed a dirty rag into his mouth and muffled the sound. His taste buds recoiled at the foreign intrusion; it tasted oily, like gasoline. His abductor pulled a black canvas bag over his head. He could hear voices behind him. It sounded like there were no more than two people.  
“We got ‘im. It's the Lupin kid, ain't it?” The first man spoke in a deep, gravelly voice.  
“Yeah, it's him. Greyback’s gonna be happy. This one’s bastard father has been causing him a helluva lot of trouble. This'll shut ‘em up.” The second one drawled. Lupin struggled and lashed out, and he felt his foot collide with something squishy. “Ow! You little prick! Tie em up!” The deep voice snapped.  
*** “No!” Lupin tried to shout, but it came out as a muted yelp instead. Ropes cinched down around his ankles, keeping him from striking out again. The same happened to his hands, which were bound painfully tight in front of his chest. He whimpered shrilly through his teeth as the coils of rope burned at his soft wrists, rough and tight. He wriggled, trying to worm his way out of his bindings, feeling the rope rub his skin raw.  
“Damn, this one’s a little fighter. He’ll make a good packmate one day.” Chuckled the man with the deep voice. “Toss him in the back. I don't think anyone saw us.”  
Packmate? Lupin thought, head spinning. What do they mean? What’s happening to me? Who are these people? What do they want with my dad?  
Lupin felt his feet leave the ground as one of the men lifted him into the air. He kicked and punched with his bound limbs, hoping to break something important, but had no such luck. He hit the grimy floor of the van with a loud thud. He heard the doors slam, and the engine start.  
The spluttering of the engine made it impossible to hear what his captors were talking about. I have to count. That's what dad said. If anyone ever took me, count the seconds. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight… many minutes passed by Lupin lay still in the back of the vehicle. Every bump jostled him, every turn rolled him back and forth. Six thousand and twelve, six thousand and thirteen six thousand and fourteen, six thousand and fifteen, six thousand and sixteen, six thousand and seventeen.  
The vehicle stuttered to a stop. I wonder why they’re using a muggle vehicle? They know who my father is, so they have to be wizards. Remus thought. The engine went quiet, and the floor stopped vibrating. Remus let out a sigh of relief despite himself. The ride had been painful, jostling him over uneven roads with sharp, swerving turns. His whole body hurt, and there would surely be bruises blooming over his shoulder and the parts of his limbs that had been slammed against the inside of the trunk. Someone wrapped their hands around his ankles, roughly pulling him out of the vehicle. He fell to the ground, sharp pebbles and irritating specks of dirt rubbing against the chafing wounds on his wrists. Pain shot up his arm as he landed on it, and he whimpered weakly. Is my arm broken? Remus worried, but he didn’t have the chance to think about it for too long.  
“Stand up, boy!” the second voice, which Remus had decided to call Growler, ordered gruffly. Remus twitched feebly, but made no attempt to stand up.  
“I said, STAND!” Growler snarled. He roughly nudged Remus’s stomach with the toe of his boot. Remus curled himself into a tiny little ball, pulling his knees up to his chin in the fetal position.  
“Do I gotta do everything around here?” Growler whined. “Get. Up!” Remus felt the man’s meaty hand reach around his tiny bicep and yank him upright. Remus squeaked in pain, but the sound was clipped by the chemical-soaked rag in his mouth.  
“Alright, in we go.” Growler dragged Remus forward, “get the door would ya mate?” He asked.  
“Sure.” The other responded. Remus heard the screech of rusted metal on metal coming from in front of him.  
“Get in there. Greyback will be here soon.” Growler clapped him on the back, sending him stumbling blindly forwards. He barely caught himself in time to prevent falling. Someone else entered behind him.  
“I'm gonna tie you to the chair, and if you cooperate I'll take the hood and gag out. Clear?” Remus nodded timidly, trembling. He was led to a chair and shoved down in it. He felt his hands being untied, sighing in relief at the release of pressure on his wrists, but the respite was short-lived. They were clipped into a pair of handcuffs which were bolted into the underside of a metal table. He whimpered when Growler tightened them, the metal stinging his wrists where the ropes had excoriated them. His feet were unbound and tied to the chair legs.  
Growler untied and pulled the bag off his head. Remus kept his eyes closed. He didn't want to see where he was. He hoped against hope that in a few minutes he would wake up, that his father would pull him into a hug and tell him it was all just a dream. The gag was yanked out of his mouth. Remus spat on to the table, swishing at the roof of his mouth with saliva, trying to clear the acrid chemical stink from his tongue. His tongue felt dry, the rag had soaked up most of the liquid in his mouth. His lips had dried on the ride over and his throat was parched from the chemical filth of the rag.  
*** “Don't try anything stupid. Greyback will be here in a bit.” Growler’s voice echoed in the small metal box. Remus heard his footsteps receding out the door. He nearly fainted from fear when the door slammed suddenly behind him.  
Remus slowly opened his eyes. The room he was in was dimly lit, but it was still brighter than what he had been used to for the past hour and a half. He blinked a few times to help his eyes adjust to the new light. He looked around, and it was almost precisely what he had pictured: a barren room, with nothing but a table with a chair at either end. There were no cuffs attached to the other chair.  
Remus waited.  
Six thousand and seventeen. Six thousand and seventeen. Six thousand and seventeen seconds away from home. I can't do this. I want my dad. Why is it so scary? Why won't I wake up? I'm so thirsty, my throat hurts so much, Daddy come save me! Six thousand and seventeen seconds away from home. Remus’ thoughts were a frantic, desperate squall. He put his cheek down on the cold metal table, bowing his head. He was facing the door, so if someone came in, he would know. A few more minutes passed by.  
The door opened with a bang, all but flying off its hinges. Remus’ eyes opened wide, in time to see two men who had to be Growler and Deep Voice kicked through it by a third. Remus closed his eyes and ducked under the table as best he could. His heart kickstarted into panic mode, he could feel it pounding frantically in his chest. The blood rushed in his ears. Who is he? What's he doing? Is he going to hurt me? DAD! Remus’s thoughts became ever more jumbled as the strange man approached. Sixthousandandseventeensixthousandandseventeensixthousandseventeensixthousandandseventeensixthousandandseventeen. Remus was jerked out his thoughts. The third man who had come into the room behind the other two gently placed his hand on Remus’s shoulder.  
“Remus? Are these the two men who brought you here?” He asked quietly, voice uncannily tender for a someone who had just booted two fully grown men through a doorway. Remus nodded, his whole body shaking. “Thank you. I'll be back in a moment, just let me take care of them.” The third man squeezed Remus’ shoulder as he lifted his hand and walked towards Growler and Deep Voice.  
“JOEY, MIKE, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!” The third man roared. Remus peaked up from where he was hiding his head. The third man was considerably larger than Joey and Mike, although they were a bit above average themselves in the size department, the third man towered over them. He was also built like a brick house, with a neck like a tree trunk and burly, corded limbs. And yet… his touch had been soft? How could a man like that, who was built to be rough, be so… gentle?  
The man grabbed Growler, who Remus assumed was actually Joey, by the neck and hoisted him into the air with one powerful arm. Joey wriggled and squirmed, clawing in vain at the new man’s hand, “What the hell were you thinking??” The largest man snarled, “He’s a boy, not a man! He’s not his father! I told you to pick him up and bring him here, not torture the poor boy!” He threw Joey to the side where he rolled to a stop against the wall, Joey clutched at his throat, his chest heaving as his breath came in agonized gasps.  
“I just,” he wheezed, “thought,” he sucked in another breath, “that was what you meant.” he coughed harshly. “Sir.” Joey slumped down on to his shoulder, still gasping for air.  
“No matter.” the man muttered. “I’ll deal with you two later.” Joey and Mike scrambled towards the door. The man they called Greyback slammed it behind them. He turned to walk towards where Remus was sitting. The poor door must have had enough. It collided with the frame, and rather than stopping in the grooves, it broke clean off its hinges and flew out the other side. Judging by the muffled screaming coming from outside where the door had once been, Mike and Joey had not managed to outrun the heavy steel door.  
The man glanced at Remus apologetically. “Just a second.” he swung back around, and stepped carefully outside the ruined doorframe. Remus gazed out the hole the door had left in the wall. The sun was close to going down, perhaps another hour until sunset. The man walked over to where the door had landed on top of Joey and Mike. He stared down with disdain at the metal door, as if by falling off its hinges it had severely disappointed him. He bent down and grasped the door with one hand, lifting it easily off of Joey and Mike. Remus heard them gibbering muffled apologies and thanks.  
The man ignored them and marched back to the room where Remus was sitting. He tilted the door so that it would fit through the frame. With both hands, he fitted it back into the hinges. The door squealed in protest, “that's the third time this week you’ve done that. Seriously. It hurts you know, getting ripped off your hinges!”  
“Quiet Janet, we have guests.” the man walked to where Remus was sitting. He shrunk back in fear, worrying that maybe this man was going to hurt him as well.  
“Here, let me un-cuff you. Those barbarians don’t know what they are doing, I am so sorry for how they treated you. My name is Fenrir, but you can just call me Fenn, everyone here who’s like you calls me that.” He unclipped the handcuffs from Remus’s wrists. Remus silently rubbed the two sore spots the bindings had left. He did not look up from the spot on the table he had been staring at.  
“Daddy says I shouldn’t talk to strangers.” Remus mumbled.  
“I’m not a stranger, I’m your new pack alpha, and when you grow up a bit, you’re gonna be my right hand man.” Fenn ruffled Remus’ hair. He walked to the other side of the table and pulled the chair from underneath. He twisted it around, so the back was leaning against the table edge. Fenn sat down, he placed his elbows on the table and laced his fingers together.  
“Tell me Remus, has your father said anything about what he’s going to be doing later?” he asked softly.  
Recognition and understanding dawned on Remus. It’s Fenrir Greyback, he's the one who dad’s been trying to catch. Daddy says he’s the worst kind, that h-he likes you-know-who. Remus glanced up to where Greyback was sitting. “Excuse me, Mr. Fenn, could I go home now?” Remus asked politely.  
“Why would you want to go back there?” Greyback asked. “You have everything you could ever want or need right here.”  
“I miss my parents.” Remus’ voice broke on the last word.  
“You miss the mother who spends all her time working a muggle job because she brought shame to her American pureblood family by marrying a half blood? She has no time for you, she doesn’t care about you. All the other kids have their parents walk them home from school. Yours obviously don’t. You miss your father? The man who sometimes comes home, but barely ever because all he focuses on is his job and hurting innocent people like me? It would be better for you if you came to live with us, in the pack.” by this time, Remus had started to cry. His chest heaved and shook, and his breath came in large gasps. Tears leaked out of his eyes, Remus just managed to shout something before the coughing took over. “I-” he wheezed. “WANT” he coughed again “MY PARENTS!”  
Greyback growled, “I am your new parent now. You answer to me. You will never see Charles John Lupin or Cara Amelia Adams again! Your name is not Lupin, it is Greyback! Tonight, you will be turned, and you will become a member of The Pack.” He stood suddenly, and without a backward glance, Greyback stormed out of the room. He ripped open the door, which barely hung on to its hinges.  
“Nox. ” he flicked his wand behind his back. The door slammed shut behind him, and the room was plunged into darkness.  
Remus whimpered. He was afraid of the dark, and afraid of what was going to happen tonight. I want my parents, sixthousnd and seventeen, I’ve got to get home. Six thousand and seventeen, you can do this Remus. He thought to himself.  
“J-Janet? I-is that your name?” his voice shook.  
“Yes dear. I’m sorry about Fenn, he gets mad sometimes. What can I do for you?” the disembodied female voice asked.  
“C-can you turn the lights back on? P-please?” Remus asked hopefully.  
“Honey, I’m a ghost. I can’t do magic anymore. But maybe my spectral form can provide you with some comfort. Are you okay if I materialize in front of you?” The voice sounded like it was closer to him.  
“Y-yeah, that’s okay. Thanks.” Remus responded. His voice had nearly stopped shaking.  
“Alright, close your eyes. I’ll tell you when it's okay to open ‘em.” she sounded like she was standing right in front of him, which seemed impossible since there was a table there. Remus waited a minute.  
“You can open up now, I’m right in front of you.” Remus opened his eyes. Sitting on top of the table in front of him was a girl. She looked no older than 16. Her face was long and pointy, but framed well by shoulder length, straight, purple hair. She had big, bedroom eyes, which appeared to be a greenish blue. The girl had a small pointy nose, and a cupid’s bow down to thin pink lips. She was skinny, unhealthily so. Her bones stuck out in odd angles, and her skin barely stretched over her collarbones. Her clothing was loose fitting on her, but on a normal girl her size it would be considered too tight. Her whole form glowed, the light comforted Remus who was deathly terrified of the dark.  
“My name’s Janet, Janet Louise Murray. Who are you?” she stuck out one spectral, bony hand.  
“I’m Remus, Remus John Lupin. Nice to meet you.” he stuck his hand out to grasp hers, but his fingers clasped around cold, empty air. It sent a small shiver up his spine, and he twitched.  
“Right, sorry. It’s easy to forget sometimes that I’m not… well, I’m not human anymore.” she brought her hand back to lie in her lap.  
“That’s okay. Thanks for coming out to talk to me.” he smiled weakly at her. And, as most nine year olds would, he asked the first question that popped into his head. “How did you die?”  
“Oh um, I don't really like to think about that much. But since you asked, I guess I’ll tell you.” she paused.  
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t know. You don’t have to tell me if you don't want to.” Remus apologized.  
“No, it’s okay, I’ll tell you.” she took a deep breath in. “I was taken from my home just like you were, but I was the first. They hadn’t perfected the process of turning yet. I was their test subject. My mom, Capella, she was responsible for putting Greyback behind bars the first time see, and when he got out, he was not happy. So he took me as retaliation. I got put in here, and was chained to the wall. When the full moon came ‘round, it had been weeks. They gave me some food and water, but barely any. That night, they all came into the room where I was. The moon turned them. One of them bit me. Then another, and another and another, and then suddenly I was watching my body get torn to pieces by the wolves. I don’t really remember my last moment, other than that it hurt. A lot.” she looked down at her hands, fiddling with her skirt.  
“I’m so sorry that happened to you.” Remus whispered. “Would you like to be friends?” Remus asked.  
“Yeah!” Janet replied enthusiastically, he face fell a second later. “But, I can never leave here… unless…” she paused a moment. “Are you able to go to the right corner of the room? I’ll guide you to exactly where.” she pepped up.  
“Yeah, I can drag the chair with me.” Remus stood. His feet were still bound to the chair, but he could move in little steps. He shuffled behind Janet to the corner of the room.  
“There it is, my necklace. I need you to pick it up and put it on.” Remus felt around in the corner. The light from Janet was not enough for him to see the corner very clearly. His hand brushed a tattered cloth, it was stiff and rough under his fingers. The edges were frayed and torn, he lifted it out of the way, choosing not to think about what it could be. He felt a small, cold metal chain under his pinkie finger. Remus scooped it up with his hand and held it up to his face. It was a simple silver chain with a small anchor pendant dangling at the bottom. Long dried blood clung to parts of the chain and anchor.  
“You can wash it off later, but put it on and I’ll be able to leave with you.” Janet smiled at him encouragingly.  
“Why did Greyback take you?” Remus dropped the chain over his head, the pendant settled in front of his neck. “I know why I was taken, cause my dad’s gonna put Greyback behind bars.”  
“Well, my reason is quite similar to yours I explained a little bit of it earlier.” she floated next to him as he shuffled back to the table. My mom, Capella, she put Greyback in jail the first time around. The day he got out, he took me and well, you know what happened next. Both my moms were devastated when he got out on a technicality. Jamie, my other mom, she was the auror who had captured Greyback’s son. He’s still in prison I think. I miss my parents a lot.”  
She paused. Remus stated to give her a response, but she held up her finger to silence him. “Shh, someone’s coming.” Janet vanished, the room went dark, but only for a moment. The door swung open a second later, Joey and Mike pushed their way into the room. Joey unclipped Remus’ feet from the chair.  
“Where are you taking me?” Remus whimpered.  
“Shh it’s alright, Remus.” Janet’s disembodied voice whispered in his ear.  
“You’re going to get turned. Don't worry, it don’t hurt too bad.” Joey gruffly stated, yanking Remus up by the armpits. “Don’t struggle, and I won’t throw you over my shoulder.” he roughly gripped Remus’s arm, pulling him towards the door. Remus forced his feet to follow, he stumbled along a few steps behind Joey. Remus felt Joey throw him forward out the door. He stumbled and fell into the dirt ground outside the little room.  
“Get up kid.” Joey growled. “I ain’t got time for games.” Remus slowly stood, brushing the dirt off his clothes.  
“This way.” Joey steered him towards another building. This one was much larger than the original room he had been held in, but like the other one, there were no windows and only one door. “The Pack is waiting for you.” Mike opened the door for them.  
Remus hardened his resolve. Squaring his shoulders, he wiped his face of all emotion. “That’s the way Remus, don’t let them see you cry. ” Janet whispered, he felt a cold presence brush through his hand. Remus straightened and curled his fingers ever so slightly inside the cold spot. He looked over his shoulder and saw Janet floating next to him, he turned his gaze down to his hand and saw her ghostly one clasped in his. Even in the dying sunbeams, her hair still glowed. It radiated a warm purple light, almost like a halo. She smiled at him weakly. “Be brave little one.” Joey pushed Remus into the dark room.  
If anyone had looked at this scene, they would have seen a small, nine year old holding hands with no one. But Minerva McGonagall was not no one. Cats can see things most humans cannot, and she saw a small, 16 year old girl comforting Remus. She was here for one purpose, to rescue Remus. His father had called her when Remus had not returned from school that day, Minerva had scanned for his scent and enlisted Kingsley Shacklebolt to help her rescue the boy from Greyback after his scent had led them to a dark alley. And now, they were here. Waiting for the correct moment to attack.  
A werewolf is weakest when it's transforming. They would strike when the moon rose. Minerva and Kingsley waited, patiently watching the door, preparing a plan of attack. She would stupify the guards, then petrify Greyback and take Remus and his ghostly friend out of the compound and to safety. Meanwhile, Kingsley would defend her from behind in his animagus form, a lynx, and distract them as they made their exit.  
Kingsley had always been one of McGonagall’s favorites at Hogwarts, and her most recent animagus student. He was good with his wand, and generally a strong wizard. Greyback had killed his werewolf friend who had refused his offer to join The Pack once they had graduated, so Kingsley had a personal bone to pick with him. Exactly why Minerva had chosen him.  
Remus blinked a few times, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dim light. It was much darker in here than it had been outside. What he saw almost made him turn tail and run, but Janet caught his scared, amber eyes with her own, giving him a reassuring glance. In front of him was a long warehouse full of hundreds of men and women who were, presumably werewolves.  
“Did your dad tell you to count? My moms did. How many seconds away from home are you?” Janet soothed, “Don’t stop, no, never stop repeating that number until it’s zero.”  
“Six thousand and seventeen.” Remus whispered.  
“Good, just focus on that.” Remus followed Janet’s advice. He repeated the number over and over, ignoring the shouted slurs and swears, ignoring the droplets of beer and spit that landed on him as he walked through the warehouse.  
They reached the end, Remus kept whispering the number to himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Greyback stand, heard words come out of his mouth, but none of them registered in his head. He repeated the number over and over as they strung him up. He felt them clip the cuffs to his hands and feet, felt the tug from the ropes as they hoisted him into the air. There he waited, all while saying the number to himself and Janet.  
He shut his eyes, he didn’t want to see the transformation. He heard them growling, howling, their bones cracking and reforming. And he waited for the bite. But it never came. Instead, Remus heard a loud bang emanate from the direction from which he had come. Remus didn’t stop whispering the number though, he did as Janet had said, focus on the number, nothing else.  
*** Remus heard the howls increase around him, he cracked one of his eyes open and looked in the direction of the noise. His eyes widened in surprise. He stopped his repetition of the number when he saw Minerva McGonagall marched through the chaos, petrifying wolves right and left. Not a single one landed a blow on her person.  
Behind her, a silver lynx grappled with the ones who tried to sneak up and attack from behind. He killed each and every one that tried to harm Minerva with one smooth motion. The lynx surged upwards, ripping their white skin with his needle-like claws, then tore out their throats with his jagged teeth. He let their bodies fall where they had stood, necks spurting blood like lopsided fountains, spraying his front with red. His whole face, chest and belly were soaked with their blood. But he didn’t seem to mind. The lynx grinned savagely, one of the wolves’ bloody, severed windpipes still clenched in between his red tinged teeth. Blood dripped from his jaws to the fast growing puddle surrounding his blood-stained paws. His eyes were alight with glee.  
The lynx spat out the werewolf gore and leapt on to the next one’s back. He sunk his teeth into the back of its neck. The wolf screamed in pain and dropped to all fours. He whipped his head back and forth, taking out the soft skin behind the throat, leaving the spine exposed. Blood spritzed from the wound, spraying into the lynx’s eyes. He blinked, then tore out the werewolf’s spine. It collapsed on to its stomach, its eyes frantically flitting back and forth, the rest of its body, completely paralyzed. The lynx dropped the gory spine in the growing pile of blood and vitals. He yowled triumphantly, then vaulted to his next target.  
Remus looked away, as much as he hated the wolves, he couldn’t watch this happen. Greyback jumped from the ground and severed the cords that were suspending with his claws, dropping Remus to the ground in a heap. He loosed a bloodcurtling scream as he fell. Greyback sunk his teeth into the soft skin on Remus’s neck, Remus opened his mouth in a wordless cry for help. The pain paralyzed his voice and body. Greyback shook him as if he were a rabbit. Pain blurred his vision, he could hear nothing but the blood rushing in his ears.  
*** Remus felt his body drop to the ground. He opened his eyes wide, seeing the ghostly form of Janet leaning over him. Her lips were moving, but he could not make out what she was saying. Remus gave in to the heavy feeling in his eyelids, letting them close and roll back into his head.  
“Hello Remus.” Remus opened his eyes. His surroundings were pitch black, he was sitting on what felt like cold metal, but when he looked down, he was met with the same inky blackness. He pushed himself to his feet, standing slowly in case he fell back down. His legs felt weak, and his whole body was fatigued. He blinked a few times, trying to work out where the voice had come from.  
“Janet?” Remus asked hopefully, turning around as he spoke.  
“Indeed.” she smiled at him. Janet stepped closer to Remus. He reached out for her, remembering too late that she was a ghost. But instead of his hand floating through empty space, it connected with warm, solid skin.  
“Janet--” He trailed off.  
“Here in the World Between, I have form, and a body. It’s where spirits are anchored. We may visit the World Below, the World Under, and the World Above when we please, but we are weaker there then we are here.” she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into chest in a tight hug.  
“Why am I here?” Remus asked softly.  
“Because your spirit is between the world below and the World Above. It has not decided whether it wishes to stay or leave.”  
“Why aren’t you in the World Above? Why are you in the World Between?” Remus inquired.  
“I chose to stay in the World Below, even when my spirit had already left my body. It was because I had wanted to try and find my parents. I found out soon after that I couldn’t leave the place where I had died. I wasn’t and still am not strong enough to move things in the World Below. When spirits become strong enough, they can move the object they are tied to that keeps them in one place. The older a spirit becomes, the stronger it is.” she frowned. “But you my friend, you must make a choice. Will you choose to fight for your place in the World Below, or will you go up?” Janet pulled away from their embrace. She held him at arm’s length, looking him in the eye.  
“I want to be with my parents again.” Remus murmured.  
“Then fight.” Janet pulled him into another hug. “It’s time for you to leave here. Go, see what the world has to offer. I’ll be there with you. Don’t worry.”  
“Thanks Janet. I will.” He squeezed her once, but her body was already fading. She chuckled softly. White light filled the space. Remus closed his eyes to defend against the brightness of it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the minor cliffhanger.  
> So to explain my version of the afterlife thing that kind of came together for this story: there are four planes. In order from bottom to top: world under, world below, world above and the world between is around all three. It's like a cake. The world under is the bottom layer of cake, the world below is the middle layer, and the world above is the frosting. The world between is the bits of icing that are in between the layers of cake to stick them together. The world under is where all the damaged souls go, (serial killers etc.) the world below is the world of the living, where we are. The world above is for souls who want to go to the afterlife. The world between is where a soul goes if it wants to be a ghost.  
> I think that explains it? If you have questions please ask I'm happy to answer.  
> First set of *** summary: Remus gets abducted by Greyback's minions.  
> Second set of *** summary: Kingsley while in lynx form takes out a few wolves. (Not gonna lie, probably the most violent scene I've written. Usually I don't write that kind of thing.)  
> Janet is going to be a major character later, I've got plans for her:) hope y'all enjoyed, I'll try and have the next chapter up by next sunday!


	2. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus awakens in St. Mungos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, so this chapter is heavy with warnings. Basically, if you do not wish to read about any of the following items in this list you should scroll to the bottom and I will put a full summary in the notes. List: PTSD, flashbacks, touch sensitivity. I was not originally going to dive this deep for this chapter, but i decided to draw upon personal experience to make it feel more real. Anywho, feel free to skip over. Chapter summary at the bottom. Posted on Sunday as promised. I've got a giant research paper due on Tuesday, so that's why this is slightly shorter than the first one. Next chapter will be up by Sunday, earlier. I promise. Critiques and criticism always welcome.  
> Thank you to my lovely beta dweeblet, as I said in an earlier conversation to you, "without you, I would be dying in a hole of bad grammar and Dialogue mistakes" thank u for everything you do.  
> Love to the people who read this, it means a lot to me to see a hit/kudos  
> Aaand, disclaimer: *waving a stick* "I don't own!"

Remus opened his eyes slowly. He blinked rapidly, to adjust himself to the ambient light of the space after being in the dark of his kidnappers’ lair. The first thing he noticed was the color of the walls: lime green. I’m in St. Mungo’s aren’t I? It’s the only place with green walls that I can think of, Remus thought to himself. He swiveled his head from side to side, examining his surroundings. The room was empty save a single chair in the corner.  
Voices emanated from behind the closed door facing his bed.  
“Ow…” Remus groaned. His neck and chest throbbed. They felt too warm, like a thousand foreign hands were pushing down on his skin. Remus realized that he was not wearing a hospital gown—instead, he was just wearing some thin, lime green pants. His chest was completely wrapped in soft, white linen bandages. He brought a hand to his neck and found that there were also white linen strips tied neatly around it.  
Remus shifted himself forward, but fell back almost instantly as a wave of nausea hit him. He waited a minute for his head to clear. Remus licked his dry lips, trying to regain some kind of moisture level. Rather than his saliva actually rehydrating his lips, it only succeeded in chapping them them more, and adding a minor burning sensation to the list of aches and pains that plagued his body.  
“Mom?” his voice came out as a muted croak. He heard a muffled thump come from outside the door. Remus felt his heartbeat speed up to double what it had been. His fists clenched, his fingernails dug little crescent cuts into his palms, but at the moment that was not what he was worried about. Nononononononononono they’re back again. They can’t be back again, they’re gonna get me no please no. sixthousandandseventeensixthousandandseventeensixthousandandseventeensixthousandandswventeen. Got to get back home. Sixthousandandseventeen.  
Remus muttered over and over, “six thousand and seventeen, six thousand and seventeen,” he paused every few seconds to take a small shaky breath. Remus stared at the white cotton sheets in front of him. The door opened slowly, the hinges creaking at the ¾ mark.  
“Remus?” he heard someone ask softly. Remus didn’t look up from the spot on the sheets where he had been staring.  
“Remus dear, my name is Healer Lia Somul, you don’t have to worry, Greyback cannot get to you here. You’re safe.” The healer stepped carefully towards him, like approaching a spooked animal. She smelled vaguely of mint, mixed with a familiar musk that was not entirely unpleasant, but unsettled him anyways.  
Remus paused his repetitions of the number, “I’m… safe?” he asked, his voice cracking pitifully in his throat.  
“Yes dear, you are. No one but your parents and me can get to you here. You’re safe.”  
“Safe.” Remus repeated. He hesitantly whispered, “I’m safe.”  
“Can I get you anything?” Somul adjusted some dials next to Remus’ pillow.  
“Where’s Janet?” Remus croaked.  
“Who?” Somul didn’t look up from the dials.  
Remus decided to try a different approach. “Where’s my necklace?”  
“Oh, it’s in a box downstairs along with the rest of your personal effects. Would you like me to get it for you?” Somul stood from where she had been working and smiled warmly down at Remus.  
“Yes please, ma’am.” Remus responded automatically.  
“Would you like anything to eat?” The healer adjusted the bandages around Remus’ neck, and he tilted his head up slightly so she would have better access.  
“Yes, ma’am.” Remus coughed.  
The healer chuckled, “I’ll go get you a tray from the cafeteria, you know you don’t need to call me ma’am. Just call me Lia. Okay?”  
“Okay Miss Lia.” Remus smiled weakly.  
“You are too cute.” Lia tittered. She walked across the small room in three strides. “I’ll be back in ten minutes with your necklace and some food.” She turned her head to smile at him one last time, twisting the door handle with one hand, waving with the other, and stepping outside. The door shut with a quiet click behind her.  
Remus let out a breath of relief he didn’t realize he was holding the moment the door closed. It wasn’t that he didn't like Lia—she seemed nice—but something about her presence put him off. I don't like the way she smells. Like a cat. Wait, what? Remus didn’t understand his sudden upset at the idea.e loved cats. More importantly, however, h couldn’t usually smell animals on people. Where was this coming from?  
Now that he thought about it, he could smell two familiar scents coming from behind the closed door. One was heavy with pine and old spice, his father’s shampoo and aftershave. The other was purely apple pie, specifically, his mother’s apple pie, which she would bake for him every Sunday. Mom? Dad? Remus sat up straight in bed. Immediately, his head began to pound, and a sharp pain grew steadily stronger behind his right eye. He sat back slowly to relieve the pressure, and waited for the pain to dissipate.  
“Mom?” he croaked.  
“Dad?” he tried again, this time his voice didn't crack in the middle the way it had before.  
He heard a muffled voice come from outside the door. “Remus? Is that you, son?”  
“Dad!” Remus wheezed, choking on his tight throat despite his eagerness to see them.  
“Remus! Hold on, I’m coming in.” His father called through the door. “Healer be damned.” he muttered quietly under his breath. The door burst open with enough force to hit the wall and make a loud bang! The sudden noise made Remus’ heart rate spike, but he was eager to see Charles John Lupin and Cara Amelia Adams surging through, rushing to their son’s side.  
“Remus baby, we missed you so much!” his mother sobbed, pulling him into her arms. Remus stiffened. It felt wrong, all wrong, and the fact that it did made him feel even more miserable. He hated this new feeling he got when she hugged him. It was not like what he remembered. Not at all. Just feeling her touch, it gave him the same sick feeling as the nausea had only a few moments before.  
“ How are you, son?” his father asked.  
“I’m f-fi-ne.” Remus stammered. “P-please s-stop touch-ing m-me. P-please.” he begged. Getoffmegetoffmestoptouchingmestopitstopitstopit. He pushed hard with both his hands, ignoring the ensuing headache. Nothing mattered in that moment other than getting them to stop touching him. His mother recoiled, confused by the sudden shift in his behavior.  
“Remus, what’s wrong?” she asked, concerned. He shook his head, curling himself back into his pillow.  
“Remus?” his father curled his hand—bigger and calloused and like those hands—around Remus’ small wrist. “You can tell us son, we’re your parents.”  
Remus screamed, yanking his arm away. “GET OFF ME!” he propelled himself backward, bumping the guardrail on his way down. Remus landed in a heap of bedsheets on the cold tile floor. He swiftly darted under the bed, bringing the covers with him. Under the bed, Remus curled himself into a tiny little ball, wrapping the bedding around his body, until just his nose and eyes were peeping out. Those hands, they reminded him of Joey and Mike… no. this was his father, it couldn’t be them.  
“Remus!” his father commanded, and the booming sound of his voice made the boy flinch. “Explain yourself. Now.” Remus could smell their fear, sharp and stinging like the chemicals of the rag that had been stuffed in his mouth, he knew that both his mother and father were afraid. It was mixed into their scents. What?? I can’t smell feelings. Something is really really wrong. Have I contracted Dragon Pox? Maybe, maybe not. He thought nervously. Gods his head hurt, his stomach felt like it was twisting itself into knots, if Remus had anything in it, he was sure it would have come up by now.  
He heard Lia’s voice wafting softly from the doorway, “Mr. Lupin, Ms. Adams, what are you doing in here? I thought I asked you both to wait outside.” she paused. “Where is Remus?”  
“We wanted to see our son, but you must have done something to him. He’s refusing to let us touch him, and acting strange. What do you have him on?” Mr. Lupin challenged.  
“We don’t have him on any kind of medication other than some low-potency potions to dull the pain.” Lia bent down to look under the bed. “Hello Remus.” she smiled warmly, “I have your necklace and some food for you. Do you want to come out from under there to get them? I need to take your parents outside to talk to them okay? Then I’ll come back in.”  
Remus didn’t budge.  
“Okay, here. I’ll leave your food and necklace on the table here, you can come out when you’re ready.” Lia stood back up. “Mr. Lupin, Ms. Adams, would you please follow me? I’ll explain everything outside.” she turned around. Remus watched her walk slowly towards the door. He shut his eyes. Reus heard his parents footsteps recede down the hallway.  
“Jeez, what is it with people and doors. Don’t kill the messenger, am I right?” Janet chuckled. “Whatcha doin down there?” Remus opened his eyes and turned his head. Janet was crouched down by the side of the bed, her head cocked slightly to the side. They made eye contact and she smiled.  
“Janet! You’re back!” Remus returned her smile weakly for a moment, then frowned. “I’m scared.”  
“Of what exactly?” Janet asked. She reached a ghostly hand towards Remus, “mind if I join you?”  
Remus scooted over to make room, Janet squeezed herself under the bed next to him. “Ya know, this is a perfect place for a blanket fort. We should make one together!” She grinned. “But you’ll have to do most of the heavy lifting. I’m so weak it’ll just go right through me.” Janet laughed at her own joke. Remus gave her a small smile as a response.  
“Wanna tell me what’s wrong?” She asked.  
“Okay, I guess.” Remus sighed. “I don’t know what is going on. I can smell Lia, and my parents, I can hear things I shouldn’t be able to hear. I could tell the emotions my parents were feeling just by their scents. My mom tried to hug me, and it made me feel so sick to my stomach, I pushed her away. My dad tried to grab my arm and so I just did the one thing I could do to get away. I’ve been hiding under here since. When Lia was checking my bandages, I felt really uncomfortable, but it wasn’t as scary as when my parents were touching me. I don’t know why, I guess cause she wasn't actually touching my skin.” he took a deep breath. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”  
“Remus.” Janet murmured sorrowfully. “I think it’s best if Lia explains this to you, she can do it better than me.” she frowned. Switching tactics, Janet said excitedly, “But while we wait, let’s make a blanket fort!” she leapt up from where she had been sitting, forgetting that there was a bed above her. But, rather than hitting her head on the metal, her body phased right through. “Whoops, guess I’m a little too excited about this.” she giggled. “Come on, silly!” She crouched down again, motioning with her hand for Remus to follow her.  
“My head hurts though, every time I move.” he frowned.  
“It’s just cause you haven't moved round in a while. Don’t worry, it’ll go away in a few minutes.” She smiled.  
“Oh, okay!” Remus returned her grin. He shifted sideways slowly, bringing the bedsheets with him. Once he was out from under the bed, Remus reached up for the guardrail, he used it for support, pulling himself to his feet slowly.  
“Hey there ya go! Come on, let’s start hanging these around the bed.” she pointed to the sheets. Remus hung each one on the sides of the bed, making sure there were no gaps by tying the corners together. Janet watched from the side, giving him helpful advice as he set up their blanket fort.  
“Okay, that should be good. Here, lemme just try something.” Janet tentatively touched the ‘bed up’ button on the remote that was lying next to the bed. She shut her eyes, scrunching her face in concentration. After a moment, the bed whirred to life and lifted a foot higher from where it had been. The sheets stayed attached to the bed as it rose.  
“I have an easier time of using muggle objects, since St. Mungo’s shares tech with muggle hospitals, this bed works the same way muggle hospital beds do.” Janey grinned happily.  
“Why does St. Mungo’s have muggle technology?” Remus wondered.  
“The statute of secrecy has different rules for medical facilities. The muggles and wizards both believe they can benefit from each other mutually by sharing their advancements. Since the medical community doesn’t have borders the way countries do, everyone helps everyone.” She smiled at him. “You’ll understand that later.”  
“Tell me more, I like it. It sounds interesting.” Remus asked.  
“Okay,” she laughed, “but first let’s get your food and check out the new fort!” She motioned to where Lia had placed his tray. Remus slowly walked over to where it was sitting on the table.  
“There’s the necklace,” Remus reached for it, lifting the chain over his head. The anchor slid down to his chest and rested there. He picked up the tray and crouched down. Remus parted the sheets with one hand, then slid underneath, bringing the tray with him. Janet followed him, gliding right through the sheet.  
“Wow! This is so awesome, Remus!” she looked around, eyes wide. Remus smiled his thanks.  
“You should try that food! The Jell-O looks pretty appetizing!” Janet pointed to the jiggling green square on the corner of the tray.  
“Eww!” Remus stuck his tongue out.  
“Aww come on, everyone likes Jell-O!” Janet laughed. “Try poking it, it’ll dance!”  
“Really?” Remus marveled.  
“Yeah! Go on, try it!” Janet motioned with her finger.  
“Okay.” Remus poked the Jell-O square with his fork. It wriggled around in the bowl, jiggling and twitching.  
“It looks like it’s gonna fall over!” Remus laughed.  
“Yeah!” Janet grinned. “Poke it again!”  
Remus touched it with his fork, making the Jell-O squirm even more. “Does it taste good?”  
“Yeah, it does. That one tastes like lime, I think. But there are other flavors too. My favorite was always cherry.” Janet pointed to the Jell-O. “Go on, try it. It’s good.”  
“Alright.” Remus cut a piece off with his fork. It wiggled as Remus brought it to his mouth. “Here goes!” He stuck the fork in his mouth, working his jaw a couple of times. “It feels weird to eat.” He said through a mouthful of Jell-O.  
“But good weird, right?” Janet chuckled. “Man, I miss Jell-O.”  
“Why don’t you try some too?” Remus held out his fork to her.  
“Oh, uh, I can’t. I’m a ghost. But it makes me just as happy to see you enjoying it as much as I would have.” She smiled sadly.  
“Can you tell me more about what you were saying earlier?” Remus asked through a mouthful of Jell-O.  
“Yeah, sure!” Janet sat down across from him. She folded her legs, resting her hands on her knee-caps. She brushed a hand across her face and tucked stray strands of purple hair behind her ears.  
“St. Mungo’s, along with other wizarding hospitals and labs partner with muggle hospitals and research centers across the world. St. Mungo’s is partnered with a hospital in America. It’s called Massachusetts-General, or just Mass-Gen for short. Every year, partnered hospitals will present their findings to each other. Then the best advancements and discoveries will be implemented and used until the next year, and the cycle repeats. Mass-Gen is one of the best muggle hospitals in the world, and St. Mungo’s is one of the best for wizards. Together they have come up with some pretty amazing new advancements. There’s a big rivalry between M squared and S cubed. S cubed is the other best group, and they are always trying to outdo each other.”  
“What’s S-cubed?” Remus asked. By now, he had finished his chicken soup and his Jell-O. He had moved on to the other bowl of soup, what looked like some kind of stew.  
“S cubed is St. Sebastian’s for Severe Spell Damage and Severances, partnered with San Diego Medical Research Center. SDMRC is in America also, and St. Seb’s is in France. See, there’s a big rivalry already between Massachusetts, that’s the American state that Mass-Gen is in, and pretty much every other state. Especially California and New York. SDMRC is in California, so there’s a whole lotta state rivalry there.” She paused.  
“Why don’t they like each other?” Remus frowned at his spoonful of stew. “Aren’t they both in America?”  
“Good question, all I can say is that Americans are weird.” she chuckled, “It’s quite similar with St. Mungo’s and St. Seb’s. See, St. Seb’s is in France. France and England don’t really get along. There’s history there, you’ll learn it in school. I was gonna try and join Mungo’s once I graduated Hogwarts. I was studying to be a healer with Madame Pomfrey.” She smiled at the memory.  
“Why do you shorten the names of things, like St. Seb’s?” Remus asked.  
“Oh, those are called nicknames, people can have them too.” she explained.  
“Can I have one?” Remus wondered. “My parents never told me about those.”  
“Hmm, your name is difficult. Let me think for a moment.” she chewed on her lip, thinking.  
“Okay.” Remus took another bite of stew.  
“Remi?” she asked.  
He shook his head. “ I don’t like that one.  
“Hmm, okay,” Janet paused, “how about Rei?”  
“Yeah! I like that one!” Remus smiled.  
“Well alright then, Rei it is.” Janet smiled at him.  
“Can I give you one?” Remus asked, swallowing another bite of stew.  
“Yeah sure!” Janet chuckled. “Nothing too crazy though.”  
“Alright, what to do, what to do...” Remus muttered to himself. “How about… Jay?”  
“I like that! Rei and Jay, we’re gonna rule the world one day!” Janet pumped her fist in the air.  
“Yeah!” Remus laughed. “Hey, when I go to Hogwarts, will you come with me?”  
“I’d love to! I was friends with some of the ghosts there, it’ll be good to see them again.” she smiled at him happily. “How old are you?”  
“I’m 9. Only two years away!” he put his spoon down on the tray. “That stew tasted really good. I wish there was some more meat though. Do you think Lia would bring me some if I asked?”  
“I’m sure she would.” Janet responded. “She probably will want to talk to you first though.”  
“Oh, yeah. Right,” Remus remembered. “Can you tell me now about what’s going on?” Remus asked, any trace of laughter that had been there before had vanished.  
“I think it would be best if Lia explained it. I wouldn’t be very good at it.” Janet stared at the floor.  
“Okay, I can smell her now anyways. She’s standing outside the door.” Remus pointed to where the door was, behind Janet.  
Lia knocked softly at the door. “Remus, is it okay if I come in now?” Lia asked from behind the closed door.  
“Yes Miss Lia,” Remus called back. The door opened gently.  
“Remus?” Lia asked. “Where are you?”  
“Under the bed Miss Lia, I made a blanket fort with Janet.” Remus poked his head between the sheets.  
“There you are, you seem to be doing better than you were an hour ago.” She squatted next to him. “Who’s Janet?”  
“Janet is my friend, she’s got purple hair, but you can’t see her. Only I can. Because she only wants me to see her. And Ghosts. Ghosts can see her too. She told me that you would explain what’s happening.” Remus looked up at Lia expectantly.  
“Your friend sounds pretty smart. Permission to enter the fort?” Lia asked.  
“Yeah, sure!” Remus parted the sheets to make space for Lia.  
“Remus, you were taken by Greyback, a very bad man. He and his friends hurt you pretty badly.” She paused.  
Remus remembered what had happened back at the compound. It came back to him in waves: the kidnapping, meeting Greyback, Joey, Mike, and Janet. He shuddered at the memory of being in the big room with the wolves and the lynx. He didn’t remember much after that, just flashes of light and pain. Lots and lots of pain. His whole body shuddered involuntarily, Remus shook his head to clear it.  
“You were rescued by Minerva McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt. They brought you here. Unfortunately, before they could reach you, Greyback bit you. That’s what the bandages are for. We tried to remove the infected parts of the wounds, but it was too late. I’m sorry, Remus, but you have Lycanthropy.” Lia stared at him from where she was sitting, her gaze filled with sorrow. “You’re a werewolf now.” Lia stated.  
“No. That cannot be possible.” Remus declared with certainty. “My dad hates werewolves, so I can’t be one.”  
“Have you been smelling anything particularly strongly? Even more than usual? Are there any sounds that bother you? Can you tell what people are feeling based on unusual scents coming from them?”  
“Yeah but… isn’t that just from the medication?” Remus asked, he no longer sounded as convinced as he had been moments before.  
“No Remus, it is a side effect of the Lycanthropy.” she paused, eyes glittering with dampness. “I’m sorry.”  
“But what about my parents? Why couldn’t I let them hug me like they used to?” Remus questioned. “Did the Lycanthropy cause that too?  
Lia’s expression crumbled, mixed sorrow and pity dancing in her eyes. “That isn’t from the Lycanthropy, no. When someone goes through a traumatic experience, many times they come back with something called ‘post-traumatic stress disorder,’ or PTSD. Muggle doctors learned about it way before us, but basically it means that after something very bad has happened, it can keep hurting you even after it’s over. Sometimes certain normal, everyday things will ‘trigger’ a response and remind you the of the bad experience. In your case, it seems that you are very touch-sensitive after withstanding contact with those men who took you. Your parents may have meant well, but actually their gestures of love and support brought you back to where you were before you were rescued. It’s going to take time, but you’ll be able to go back to doing things you used to do before this happened. Once you leave here next week, you’re gonna come back here twice a week to tell me how you’re doing, and so I can help you work through what happened.” Lia stared at a point behind Remus.  
“What am I gonna do about changing into a… a werewolf?” Remus asked fearfully.  
“Well, your parents are going to bring you here, we have a safe room for patients like you.” Lia explained.  
“There are others like me?” Remus asked.  
“Yes, there are. Two others. You are going to meet them later in the month. For now though, you’re going to stay here. Your parents want to come see you. Is that okay with you?” Lia asked.  
“Yeah, I guess.” Remus mumbled.  
“Okay, I’ll bring them in. Also, I have a special potion that I need you to drink each day, okay? It will make transformations easier for you.” Lia crawled back out from under the bed. “I will be back in a second with your parents.”  
“Alright.” Remus murmured. The door shut moments after.  
“Do you want me to stay with you while your parents are here?” Janet asked. She had been quiet the whole time.  
“Yes please, Jay.” Remus’ voice wavered. “Did you know that I… That I was a werewolf?” Remus asked.  
“Yeah, I did. I also knew about the PTSD, but it wasn’t my place to tell you. I’m sorry Rei. All I can say is that I’ll be here for you the whole way through.” She smiled sadly. “I think your parents are here.”  
“Yeah I know, I can smell them.” Remus sighed. The door opened, much softer than it had the last time his parents entered.  
“Remus? His mother called quietly. “Where are you, honey?”  
“I’m under the bed mom, in my fort.” He called.  
“Oh, is it okay if I stick my head under to say hello?” She asked. Her voice was full of false cheer.  
“Yes mom.” Remus affirmed. “Is dad there too?”  
“He is. Is it alright if we both say hi?” his mother asked.  
“Yeah.” Remus monotoned. His parents stuck their heads under the sheets. Remus looked over to Janet, who nodded encouragingly.  
“Hello, Remus.” His dad waved.  
“Hi, Dad.” Remus waved back. “Dad, do you and Mom hate me?” Remus asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.  
“No Remus, we could never hate you.” His dad replied. “Why would you ask such a thing?”  
“‘Cause I’m a werewolf now. And you hate werewolves.” He sighed, pulling his knees to his chest.  
“That doesn’t change a thing, Remus, we love you anyways.” His mom smiled at him. Now that he was calm, he was able to take in his parents’ appearances in more detail. Pieces of his mother’s light brown hair had spilled out of her ponytail, falling around her face in wavy strands. Her clothes were rumpled and untucked, which was very unusual for her normally well put together persona. His father looked much worse: there were partially healed cuts and bruises on his face and neck. Remus couldn’t see what his body looked under his robe, but he imagined there were other similar bruises and cuts.  
“What happened to you guys?” Remus asked.  
“There was a manhunt for Greyback and his wolves. They scattered, but we got most of them. Including Greyback. He’s standing trial right now. If all goes well, he won’t see the light of day ever again.” His father nodded his head to agree with himself, “He won’t shimmy his way out of this. McGonagall and Kingsley are testifying.”  
“That’s good, I guess.” Remus fiddled with his pants. “Um, can you leave now? I kinda wanna be alone.” Remus asked, looking everywhere but his parents.  
“Alright Remus. If you need anything, we’ll be right outside.” His mother and father stood up. The door opened and closed, and then they were gone.  
“Rei?” Janet murmured.  
“Jay, will you stay with me? I really want to go to sleep. “ Remus quietly asked.  
“Yes, I’ll be right here the whole time. You don’t have to be afraid.” She smiled.  
“Thanks, Jay.” Remus yawned and stretched out on the floor, putting his head on the pillow he had grabbed while making the fort.  
Remus closed his eyes. I’m a werewolf. A big, scary werewolf. Not a human. What am I gonna do now? There are others like me? I wonder who they are… Remus’ thoughts trailed off as he fell into a deep sleep.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remus wakes in the hospital  
> Has sensitive to touch/ severe ptsd after his experience with the wolves  
> Meets Lia, a healer at st mungos  
> Sensitive near his parents  
> Blanket forts  
> Janet is doing her best  
> Remus finds out he has Lycanthropy  
> Thanks for reading! Comments and critiques welcome!  
> UPDATE: I have recently consulted the book, The Elements of Style by Strunk and White, and I realize I have been getting a grammar thing wrong *slaps self on back of head* it has to do with the possessive S, and names that end in S, (Remus) I will correct this in the future, just thought you aught to know...


	3. Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lighter chapter. BUBBLES!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for not getting this up on Sunday. my research paper was moved back two days so that caused a big SNAFU in everything else. I'll try and get two chapters up by next Sunday the 6th.  
> this chapter is much lighter than the chapter that is going to follow.  
> Remus is a little prankster.  
> Comments and criticism welcome.  
> Thank you for reading, kudos are always greatly appreciated.  
> I do not own, JK Rowling does.

Remus packed the rest of his meager belongings into a small duffel bag his parents had brought him. It had been one week since he had woken up in the hospital and met Lia, his Assigned Healer. Remus found out later that she worked with all the “special cases.” He zipped the duffle bag closed, placing it on the unmade hospital bed. The sheets were in a pile underneath the bed frame. 

“Finally, I get to see where you live.” Janet was dangling upside down from the top of the lone shelf in the room. Her knees were hooked over the edge, the rest of her body hung down in front of the openings in the shelf, her hair reaching for the floor, as if it had suddenly become magnetized. In one fluid motion, she pulled herself to the top of the shelf, standing at the ledge. The upper half of her body disappeared through the ceiling. 

“Eep!!” she squealed. Remus watched her bend her knees, then jump off the top. The shelf rattled ever so slightly as her feet left the wooden platform, shaking the bottles of pills inside. She gracefully flipped forward and landed on her feet, crouching. 

“Are you alright?” Remus asked from where he was standing. 

“Uh… yeah. Came face to face with a large spider. He was hanging out by the light fixture, I guess because it’s warm. I don’t like spiders…” she shivered. 

“Sorry about that.” Remus said softly. “That was a pretty cool flip off the top though.” 

“Thanks!” Janet stood, straightening her jacket. “I was on the gymnastics team at the muggle school I attended before Hogwarts. Floating sure makes it easier to do things though.” 

Remus chewed on his lip, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Well, cause I’m a ghost, I can float. One of the perks of being dead I guess.” she leapt into the air, hovering a few feet off the ground. “See?” She leaned back, falling into a slow motion backflip. 

“Woooooooow!” Remus exclaimed. “Can you do it again?” 

“Yeah sur--” Janet’s voice was cut off by the sound of the door opening. Ms. Adams and Mr. Lupin stepped inside. 

“Ready to go home?” Mr. Lupin asked. 

“Yeah dad, I’m ready.” Remus picked up his duffle bag and slung it over his good shoulder. He walked out the open door, which was being held by his mother. Lia was waiting for him outside. 

“Good morning Remus. Here are the rest of your things.” she handed him a small white bag. “If you need anything at all, tell your parents, they will bring you here. You’re gonna come back twice a week to meet with me. Sound good?” she smiled at him. 

“Sounds good Miss Lia.” Remus returned her friendly gaze. 

“Oh, and don’t forget to take your potions every day.” She reminded him. 

“I won’t forget.” Remus dutifully replied. 

“Off you go then. Floo is at the end of the hall.” she pointed down the hall. 

“Come along Remus. His father and mother had walked around where he and Lia had been talking. Remus followed them. 

“Alright, step in first.” His father pointed to the dancing green flames. Remus ducked under the mantel, standing in the middle of the fire. The green flames licked his body, making him shiver. His father and mother stood on either side of him, it was a big enough fireplace for the three of them to comfortably fit side by side. 

“Adams-Lupin residence,” His father clearly enunciated each syllable. Remus squeezed his eyes closed as he felt his body begin to spin. His father an mother each grasped one of his hands, the three of them shot through the floo system, tumbling out of their own fireplace a minute later. The almost fully healed scars on his chest and neck gave a little twinge of protest at the rough landing. Remus stumbled out of the fireplace and fell to his hands and knees. He coughed once, to get the soot out of his lungs from their landing. 

“Remus?” His mother asked. “Are you alright?” 

“Yeah mom, I’m fine.” he replied, pushing himself up to a standing position. 

“Alright then. Go on upstairs to your room and unpack. Healer Somul said that we should keep you here for another week or so.” his mother pointed to the narrow stairwell.  

“Okay mom.” Remus walked over to the stairwell, taking them slowly, one at a time, leaning on the wooden railing for support. He reached the second floor landing, turning left down the hall. He reached his door and pushed it open with one hand, twisting the handle with the other. The door swung open. Everything had been left exactly the way it had been. Before he had been grabbed. His book,  _ Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them _ ,  sat on the windowsill, he liked to read there in the mornings. His bed was unmade, the comforter in a pile by the foot. Remus dropped his bag on the floor, crossing the room in two strides, he let himself collapse on his bed. 

“Hey Rei!!” Janet called. She materialized on top of the bookshelf, sitting cross legged in the space between the top and the ceiling. 

“Janet?” Remus looked up the bed. 

“Can I explore? Please? Please? Please?” She requested hopefully. “I’m sooooo curious to see what your house looks like!” 

“Yeah sure, go ahead. Knock yourself out.” Remus rolled over. 

“Silly, I can’t knock myself out. I’m a ghost.” Janet hopped the five feet from the top of the shelf to the ground, landing gracefully in a crouch. 

“Just don’t break anything, okay?” Remus resignedly sighed. 

“Okay!” Janet jumped to her feet, levitating a couple of inches off the ground, she flew through the open doorway. Remus rolled again, reaching for the blankets at the bottom of the bed. He closed his eyes, allowing the wave of tiredness he had been feeling since he was released to overcome him. 

***

Remus awoke that evening, feeling surprisingly well rested. He stood up slowly, in order to avoid the lightheadedness that came from standing too quickly. 

“Evening, sleepyhead!” Janet giggled. She was sitting in the windowsill, holding Remus’ book. “This was one of my favorite books when I was at Hogwarts! I had my own signed copy and everything!” 

“That’s cool.” Remus slurred, his voice thick with sleep. He stretched his arms and back, opening his mouth in a gaping yawn. “What time is it?” 

“Around 7:00 I think. Your mom stopped in earlier to check on you. Dinner is on a tray outside.” Janet pointed to the door. 

Remus sniffed the air, “Great, spinach and carrots with milk.” He took a few more deep breaths in through his nose. “With… olive oil.” He turned away from the door. “I’d rather go hungry.” 

“Aww come on, Spinach is good. I love spinach. Popeye eats spinach, and it makes him grow big and strong.” Janet put the book down. She stood up from the windowsill, “just try it?” 

“Fine.” Remus huffed. “I want something good though. Like a steak, or some chicken maybe?” He groaned. “If I’m stuck being a werewolf, may as well embrace it, right?” 

“Just because you are a wolf now doesn’t mean you  _ can’t  _ eat your veggies like everyone else had to.” 

“Huh.” Remus scoffed. He opened the door. Leaning down, Remus grasped the tray in one hand, lifting it easily into the air. He spun back around, letting the door close behind him. Remus set the tray down on his desk. He pulled the chair back with much more force than what was intended, sending it crashing backwards into the floor. 

“That was unexpected.” Remus pinched his brow. 

“You have more strength now that you are a werewolf. Be careful of what you do now, the consequences could be disastrous.” Janet warned. 

“What am I gonna do? Destroy the world by throwing a chair at something? Sure.” Remus rolled his eyes and sat down at his desk. 

“What’s with the sass?” Janet asked. 

“What sass?” Remus shoved a bite of spinach in his mouth. 

“That sass.” Janet said pointedly. 

“I’m not sassing you.” Remus mumbled through a mouthful of spinach. 

“Whatever you say.” Janet pinched the bridge of her nose. They sat in silence while Remus finished the rest of his meal. 

“Sorry for being rude.” Remus glanced apologetically at Janet out of the corner of his eye. “This is all so new to me.” 

“Accepted.” Janet smiled at him. Remus walked to the door.  He held his tray in one hand and twisted the door open with the other. Placing the tray right outside, Remus shut the door quietly, muffling the sound as much as possible so his parents wouldn’t hear.  

“Jay, can you check to see where my parents are?” Remus asked, sitting on the corner of his bed. 

“Sure thing. Be right back.” Janet sprinted through the wall, leaving only a small vapour trail in her wake. Remus sighed, slowly sitting down on the edge of his bed. A few minutes passed before Janet returned. She tumbled through the door in a smoky ball, landing in a heap on the floor. Panting, she pushed herself to her feet. Janet brushed off her clothes, tendrils of mist snaking away wherever her fingers brushed.

“Sorry.” she panted, “haven’t run in a while. Damn that was fun.” Panic flashed across her eyes. “I mean darn.” 

Remus laughed, “that’s a bad word.” 

Janet looked over at him guiltily, “Yeah… whoops. Sor--” Surprise rippled across Janet’s face, She puffed her cheeks out like a chipmunk. Bubbles spilled out from between her slightly parted lips, sinking slowly to the ground. 

“Wha--” Janet tried to say. Instead of finishing the word, opening her mouth sent more white soap suds spilled from her mouth. “Rei” Janet spat out a huge mouthful of bubbles, but her mouth just refilled. Janet frantically mimed what looked like  _ help!  _ and  _ quit it! _

Remus giggled, “Haha, you got your mouth washed out with soap.” Less and less bubbles spilled out of Janet’s mouth until the flow completely subsided. Janet opened her mouth, first a little, then more and more to see if more bubbles would come out. 

Satisfied, Janet resignedly sighed, “I really don’t like accidental magic.” She coughed. One solitary bubble flew from her mouth into the air. It sluggishly drifted down to the floor, popping when it hit the wood. 

“PUTA MADRÈ!” Janet shrieked at the bubble. Apparently, magic could understand Spanish. She spat out a glob of soap suds. Her mouth filled with bubbles for a second time. 

Remus collapsed on the floor in a fit of laughter. His chest heaved with giggles, and he clutched at his sides. Tears streamed out of his eyes. “Janet” he said between laughs, “what’s that mean?” Janet tried to grumble something through the bubbles. Remus couldn’t understand what she was saying, each time she tried, more bubbles poured out from her lips. 

Janet glared at him through narrowed eyes. The flow of bubbles subsided. Remus stopped giggling, and blinked up at Janet’s indignant glare. “I really  _ hate  _ accidental magic.” 

“What does puta madrè mean?” Remus asked.

Janet smiled evilly. “haHA! Your turn!” She grinned. 

Remus blinked in confusion. “My turn for what?” 

“You’ve got to be F-” she stopped mid sentence. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” 

Remus laughed. “What’s it mean?” 

“Promise you won't suds me?” Janet asked. 

“I promise.” Remus smiled. 

“Pinkie swear?” Janet stuck out her pinkie. 

“Pinkie swear.” Remus brushed his pinkie through hers. 

“It means mother F-” Janet shut her mouth quickly. “It means, mother fluffer.” 

“Ha, that isn’t bad.” Remus smiled. 

“Nope, not at all.” Janet lied. “Well, would you look at the time, it’s already 8:30.” 

Remus looked up from the floor, “bedtime already?” 

“Yep. Go and brush your teeth.” Janet pointed to the bathroom door. 

“Alright.” Remus stood up from the floor and walked into the bathroom. The door swung shut behind him. Janet sat back down on the windowsill. She picked up Fantastic Beasts, flipping through the pages to pass the time. 

Remus walked back out ten minutes later. “Just gonna change into my PJ’s.” Remus took off his shirt and tossed it in the closet. His scars were still pink from healing. Bandages were not necessary anymore, but he still had to take low molarity doses of pain medication, and Wolfsbane potion at exactly .9 Molar. 

He slipped into a blue flannel shirt and red drawstring pants, both looked huge on his thin frame. “Can you tell me a bedtime story?” He pulled the covers back on his bed and slipped in, then pulled them back over himself. 

“Yeah, okay. Sure. Don’t you wanna turn out the light?” She pointed to the lamp next to him. 

“No. I’m afraid of the dark.” Remus responded.

“Alright then. Bedtime story.” Janet shut Fantastic Beasts. “Once upon a time, in a clearing in a magical forest, there lived a small wolf puppy. He was light brown with streaks of sandy blonde in his silky fur, and had bright amber eyes. His name was…” Janet paused to think for a moment. “His name was Romulus, ‘Ro’ for short. Everyday, Ro would play alone in the clearing. He was happy and safe inside the magical clearing, but he desperately wanted someone who he could play with.” 

Remus interrupted her, “why is the clearing magical?” 

Janet frowned, thinking. “Because it keeps the bad creatures out.” 

Remus yawned. “Alright, keep telling.” 

Janet smiled, “One day, Ro decided to leave the clearing in search of a friend. 

“But the bad creatures are out there!” Remus interrupted again. 

“Shh. Do you want to know what happens?” Janet asked. 

“Yeah…” Remus replied sheepishly. 

“Mouth closed, and ears open then.” Janet said. Remus nodded, shutting his eyes and mouth. 

“Ro left the safety of the clearing and walked through the dark forest. ‘Hello?’ he called. ‘Anyone there?’ Ro padded along the path.  _ ‘Romulus’  _ a voice whispered from behind the wolf pup. ‘Hello? Who’s there?’ Ro asked.” 

“Who is it?” Remus opened his eyes. 

“Oy, zip it, you.” Janet glared jokingly. “You’ll find out in a bit.” 

“Okay.” Remus giggled.

“ _ ‘It is I, Moonshadow, I want to be your friend.’ _ the voice whispered. ‘Come out, we can play together in the clearing.’ Ro yipped happily. ‘ _ No, I cannot go to the clearing. Come with me to the Shadow Realm. We shall play together there, forever.’  _ The voice responded. ‘But, it isn’t safe in the Shadow Realm, who are you?’ Ro asked, a quiver of fear in his voice. ‘ _ I am Moonshadow, come play in the Realm with me.’  _ the voice urged. ‘Um… alright I guess. I really want to have a friend.’ Ro responded.  _ ‘Yes, yes, come with me. I will show the way.’  _ A large beast, made completely of shadows, materialized in front of Ro.  _ ‘follow me’ _ the beast commanded. ‘I don’t wanna be friends with you! You’re scary!’ Ro whimpered. Suddenly, a flash of light filled the dark forest. ‘Do not harm him, beast of the Shadows. He is under my protection.’ roared a great silver leopard. Ro cowered behind the giant leopard’s translucent tail. The shadow beast charged at the leopard.”

“Ahh! Remus squeaked. “What happens next?” 

Janet glared at him. “The leopard jumped into the air, meeting the beast in the middle. The leopard struck the beast down, it fell to the ground. ‘ _ Nooooooo’ _ the beast growled, fading away.  _ ‘ _ Thank you for saving me from the beast.’ Ro dipped his head to the leopard. ‘Of course. My name is Laurel, I am the defender of the magical clearing.’ the leopard nodded to Ro. ‘will you be my friend and play with me?’ Ro asked. ‘I would love to. Come with me, we must go back to the clearing.’ the leopard padded back along the path. ‘Okay!’ Ro responded cheerfully. He followed the leopard back along the path to the magical clearing. The end.” Janet finished.  

She looked over to Remus. He was fast asleep, curled into a ball on his side. Janet smiled contentedly. Janet flicked the light switch. She shut her eyes and leaned back against the windowsill. Sleep claimed her soon after. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who was wondering, puta madre directly translates to bi*ch mother. it carries the same meaning as "holy sh*t" and "Motherf*cker." In this case I am using it as "motherf*cker."  
> Molarity is the moles of solute per liters of solution. AKA, how concentrated something is. My chem knowledge is one year of high school chemistry, so if this is incorrect please let me know!  
> The bedtime story, that was improv, was not in my original plan.


	4. Before The Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus goes to St. Mungo's for therapy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I edited this chapter, but i'm probably going to re edit again at some point this week. Rather than the usual Sunday post, expect another chapter around Wednesday/Thursday ish, as well as the usual Sunday.   
> otherwise, enjoy.   
> comments and criticisms always appreciated.   
> Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling not me.   
> Thank you for reading!

“Good morning sweetie!” Remus’ mother called from outside the door. “Breakfast is ready, downstairs!” Remus flopped over onto his stomach.  
“Five more minutes.” He grumbled sleepily. His mother’s footsteps receded down the hallway.   
“C’mon silly! Breakfast is ready.” Janet called from her seat on the window. By now, she had become strong enough to lift smaller objects; this was both a blessing and a curse for Remus. She could help him with smaller tasks-- cleaning his room, folding clothes. She could read his books while he was at St. Mungo’s with Lia, and play wizard chess against the enchanted pieces.   
However, Remus found himself falling, tripping, flying, slamming, trying-to-duck-and-failing, into pranks that she had set up for him while he was away. It seemed that Janet had not gotten over the bubble incident, and had decided to pay him back in kind. Most of them were non-threatening, non-triggering pranks. A bucket of water above the door that spills when opened. Soap suds on the floor, sending Remus skating across the floor.   
Remus, of course, would prank her back using his ‘accidental’ magic combined with good old fashioned surprise. When she opened a book, confetti would explode from the pages into her face. If she swore, the dreaded bubbles would return. If she floated past a spot on the floor which Remus’ magic had charmed, a ghost cactus or some other potted plant would appear in front of her. Janet had taken to floating near the ceiling to avoid such pranks.   
This lighthearted prank-war helped to keep Remus and Janet’s spirits high, pun intended. It distracted him from his day to day struggles with the recovery. It had been three weeks since the attack. Since then, Remus had seen Lia six times. He had been preparing for his first change into a werewolf. There were a few other wolves who also worked with Lia at St. Mungo’s.  
Elena Baranco was a muggleborn college student attending Oxford. She had been out walking on the moors late one night for her astronomy class when she had stumbled on a lone werewolf. He had chained himself to a rock before he transformed, but when his wolf saw her, he broke free from his bonds and attacked her, turning her into a wolf as well.   
The second wolf’s name was Amos Archer. He was a pureblood who got caught breaking the muggle laws and got himself put into a muggle prison. Rather than bail him out, his family decided to leave him there for a while to teach him a lesson. He broke out a few weeks after his incarceration and ran right into a werewolf. The rest was history.   
Thankfully, his time in the ‘can’ had done what his parents had hoped it would do. Now, he and Elena were best friends, they had been coming to the program for years now, and Lia had been their councillor the whole time.  
Today was his last appointment before the first transformation. The session was at 10:00, Remus knew that. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go, he just really didn’t want to get out of bed. He flipped to his back, letting the rays of the morning sun warm his face. Remus smiled contentedly. Maybe I can just stay here, Remus sighed inwardly.   
Janet had other plans. “WAAAAAAKE UP!” She shouted, right next to his ear. Remus yelled in surprise. He jumped straight out of bed, kicking his covers into a messy ball around himself. He landed on the floor with a dull umph. The covers swirled to the ground around him.   
“Good morning!” Janet smiled innocently.   
Remus harrumphed, glaring at her through the corner of his eye. “Yeah sure it is.” He grumbled.   
“Your mum’s waiting for us downstairs, let’s go!” Janet grinned, motioning to the door.   
“Fine.” Remus rolled his eyes.   
“Yay!” Janet flew through the door, leaving only a trail of wispy smoke for Remus to follow. He stood up, untangling his limb from the fallen bedsheet. Remus walked to the door, twisting the door handle cautiously. Sometimes, Janet would set up a prank that was just waiting for him on the other side of the door.   
Apparently, today she had not. Remus swung the door open wide and stepped into the hall. The smell of bacon made his nose twitch, he sped up his walking pace. He arrived in the kitchen a few moments later.   
“Morning, Remus,” His father grinned from behind his newspaper.   
“Morning dad,” he replied. His mother smiled and reached her hand out to ruffle his hair.  
Remus flinched away from her touch. She withdrew her hand. Hurt from this rejection flashed briefly across her face. It vanished a moment later. His mother smiled a welcome, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.   
Bacon and eggs sat on plates in the center of the small table. Remus pulled out a chair and sat down. Janet hovered in the corner of the room, her face was crumpled with badly concealed concern. Remus rolled his eyes. He lifted a few slices of bacon on to his plate.   
“The floo is ready for you when you finish eating.” His mother gestured vaguely with her head towards the living room.  
“Alright.” Remus responded through a mouthful of bacon.   
“Lia at 10:00, and group is at 11:30. Physical therapy is at 1:00.” His mother recited to him from behind the sink.   
“Got it,” Remus mumbled through a mouthful of bacon. Janet pointed at her wrist, signaling that he needed to hurry up. He swallowed the last piece of bacon without even chewing, grimacing as it scratched at his throat on the way down.   
“Bye mom, bye dad.” Remus called over his shoulder.   
“Have a good day, son.” his father responded. He reached out to pat him on the shoulder, but withdrew almost immediately.   
“Bye Remus!” His mother waved. Remus stepped into the lit fireplace, grabbing the pot of powder from the mantel. He grabbed a pinch of the floo powder and dropped it into the flames.  
“St. Mungo’s!” Remus shouted. Fireplaces whipped by at a dizzying pace, Remus shut his eyes and waited for the spinning sensation to end. His feet collided with the St. Mungo’s hearth, knees buckling at the impact. He gracelessly fell face first on to the cold wooden floor.   
“Need to work on that landing, mate.” chuckled a heavily accented male voice.   
Remus flipped over to his back. “Hello Amos.” he coughed, blinking his eyes a few times.   
Amos offered him his hand, which Remus gratefully took. Remus’ hand, compared to Amos was like a baby’s hand being held by a polar bear’s paw. “Bit better than last time though.”   
Remus let go of his hand and attempted to brush the soot off his clothing. “Can we not revisit that?”   
“Sure, sure.” Amos chuckled. “Missed a spot,” he pointed to Remus’ cheek.   
Remus furiously rubbed at his cheek, “thanks.”   
“Amos? You’re supposed to be in physical therapy right now!” Lia chastised, walking into the Floo Room, no doubt to meet Remus there.   
“Not like he needs it.” Remus muttered. Amos stood at a hulking 6’7. Tanned skin stretched over bulging muscles, his legs were as big as Remus himself, his barrel-chested torso was easily larger than a regular sized tree. His ribbed tank top looked much too small for him, it was stretched so tightly around his body that remus worried it might rip if he flexed. His shorts were tied high on his waist.   
Amos shook his head, “Sorry Li-li, wanted to see Remus’ great entrance. Absolutely priceless, as usual.” He ran a hand through his cropped, black hair. Lia rolled her eyes.   
“Can I pleaseeeee go join Amos in physical therapy? Pleaseeeeee?” Begged Janet.   
Remus rolled his eyes, “sure.”  
“Come along Remus, time for our session.” Lia beckoned. Remus followed her to her office. He watched Janet float dreamily behind Amos out of the corner of his eye. He stepped inside the small room behind Lia, shutting the door with a soft click. Lia sat down in her green leather armchair, motioning for Remus to take the couch.   
“How have things been going, Remus?” She asked casually.   
“They’ve been okay I guess. I only had one nightmare last night, Janet woke me up right when she saw I was having one. I still can’t touch my parents, nor most everyone else. Amos and Elena are different-- I can touch them, even hug them. I don’t know why though.” Remus worried his lip.   
“I am glad you have made progress with Elena and Amos, they went through something similar to you. I believe that this knowledge of shared experience helps you to open up to them in ways you would be unable to do with your parents.” Lia paused, working her jaw. “Would you be comfortable with explaining who Janet is?”   
“Um, yeah. You cannot tell anyone, right?” Remus asked.  
“I am bound by an Unbreakable Vow to only report if absolutely necessary.” Lia recited.   
“Okay, well, Janet is a ghost. I met her at the.. The… Place.” Remus couldn’t say the name of the compound out loud.   
“She was Greyback’s first victim. Her parents tried to put him in jail and he retaliated by taking her. He was just gonna bite her, but they hadn’t perfected the process yet and she… died. I found her necklace after she told me where it was and since then she and I have been friends. She stayed with me the entire time during you know what…” Remus looked down at the rug, tugging nervously at his shirt with his fingers.   
“I am very glad you have Janet, she seems like a good friend. Tell me, how old is she?” Lia asked pensively.   
“She’s 16, she attended Hogwarts.” Remus mumbled.   
“And what does she look like?” Lia asked.   
“She’s tall, and really skinny, and she has purple hair.” Remus stopped fiddling with his shirt. “Why?”   
“Can I meet her?” Lia requested.  
“I can ask her.” He responded.   
“Is she in this room right now?” Lia looked up at the ceiling.   
“No, she followed Amos to physical therapy, I think she’s got a crush…” Remus giggled.   
Lia relaxed, “alright then, maybe some other time.”   
“Yeah.” Remus replied. The bell clock on Lia’s desk chimed.   
“It seems that it’s time for group.” Lia stood up and opened the door. “Come in Amos, Elena.”   
Amos dropped into the nearest chair, “hey Lia, how’s it hangin?”   
“I am good thank you Amos. Elena, why don’t you take the seat next to Remus?”   
“Yes, ma’am.” Elena responded, lowering herself gently onto the couch cushion. Remus stared at Elena’s face, unable to tear his eyes away from what he saw: four long gashes started right at her left eyebrow, slicing across her nose and down her cheek and chin, all the way down her neck.   
“Sorry, I forgot to disillusion my scars.” She muttered a quick incantation, and they melted back into her face as if they had never been there in the first place. Her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment.   
“Sorry,” Remus mumbled, looking down. It had been three weeks since he had met Elena, and not once had he seen her marks. Not that she had seen much of his either, but still, it felt odd to Remus that she would hide them after telling him and Amos her story. “Why do you hide them?” Remus asked.   
“Oh, um..” Elena stumbled, lost for words. Lia glanced at Remus in warning.   
“Let’s save that question for another time.” Lia interjected.   
“Okay.” Remus squeaked, shame heating up his cheeks.   
“Amos, it’s you turn to share today. Do you feel comfortable with doing this?” Lia asked.  
“Yeah sure, I guess. What do you want me to say?” He wiped beads of sweat from his shiny brow.   
“Tell us about your first transformation.” Lia sat back in her chair.   
“Well, It was about a month after I was first admitted here. I came here on Cheese Day, and Lia talked me through what was going to happen.” Amos paused.   
“What’s Cheese Day?” Remus asked.   
“That’s the code word we have for the full moon, so people don’t know we’re werewolves.” Elena responded.   
“Wouldn’t that just raise more questions?” Remus frowned.   
“Not really, it’s worked well because I work part time at a wine and cheese story, and Amos and I spend a lot of… time together.” Elena explained.   
“Okay then.” Remus did not pick up on the subtle hint that Elena and Amos were together, but Janet, who was sitting in the corner dreamily admiring Amos, jerked out of her trance at those words and threw a nasty glare at Elena. Remus giggled, understanding suddenly what Elena had meant.   
“What’s funny?” Elena cocked her head.   
“Nothing.” Remus barely concealed his amusement by placing a hand over his mouth, his eyes still shone with laughter.   
“Okay… should I continue, Lia?” Amos asked.   
“Please.” Lia responded.   
“Alright, so as I was saying, I came here for my transformation. Lia and I apperated to this big forest. There were a whole bunch of wards that had been placed on it. I was her only werewolf patient at the time, so it was just the two of us. We stepped through the wards, and she explained to me that only non K-9 creatures could step over the line. I--I changed soon after. There ain’t nothing that can prepare you for that. It felt like every bone in my body was being broken and reshaped. Then, next thing I knew, I was a wolf. Wolfsbane potion let me keep my human mind. Lia was there with me the whole time, she transformed too. Animagus.”   
Amos took a shaky breath in through his nose. “The ones after weren't as bad as the first, I don’t think I ever felt something worse than the first. Sorry. I know that probably isn’t what you wanted to hear, but I don’t lie about stuff like this, that’s just the kind of man I am.”   
“Remus, it’s going to be difficult, but you’ll get through it. We all did..” Elena nodded, reassuring him.  
Janet floated across the room, sitting cross legged in the air next to Remus. She rested a ghostly hand on his shoulder, “I won’t leave your side. I promise.”   
“Thanks Jay.” Remus murmured.   
“Remus?” he turned back to the group circle at the sound of Elena’s voice.   
“What did you say?” Remus asked.  
“Space cadet hmm?” Lia joked. “I was letting you know that it was time for you to go to lunch. PT is in an hour.”  
“Alright, thank you. See you guys on Monday.” Remus stood up from the couch and walked to the door.   
“Have fun at PT.” Amos chuckled.   
“Thanks.” Remus opened the door and stepped into the hall, letting it swing shut behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapters recently, I've had a busy week.


	5. Under the Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus transforms into a wolf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long, I have been really busy. I am not going to post a new chapter until the second week of June. I will be writing the whole time, but I can't post regularly since the next few weeks would not work very well. No real warnings in this chapter except one: Remus has a flashback during his time as a werewolf.  
> otherwise, hope you enjoy. Kudos, comments and critiques always welcome!  
> thank you for reading!

“I really don’t want to do this,” Remus muttered. 

“I know, but you have to. Lia, Elena, and Amos will be there with you.” Janet floated next to him as he walked through the upstairs hall.  

“You were there, you heard what they said. It’s going to hurt.” 

The sun was still above the horizon, but the sky had taken on a pinkish-orange glow.

Janet stopped in front of him. “You are the strongest 9 year old I know. Heck, you’re one of the strongest people I know. If anyone can make it through this, its you.”

“I don’t know what you people see in me. I’m not strong, I’m not brave. I’m weak, I let myself get taken, I’m afraid of what is happening tonight, I can’t even let my parents touch me.” Remus cried. He let his knees buckle under him, sinking down to the living room floor. Remus curled around himself, pulling his knees into his chest. 

“Remus, you are strong because you  _ survived _ . You didn’t let them kill you, you didn’t give up. Yes there is an aftermath that you have to deal with, it is incredibly tough to get yourself back to where you were before this happened, but, Remus, you are doing it. It is supposed to be slow going, there will be problems that arise after, but you have to rise up and face it head on.” Janet knelt in front of him. “I know you can do this,” She whispered. 

“But how?” Remus’s voice came out as a broken sob. “How do you know I can do this?” 

“Because, Remus,” Janet smiled affectionately, “ I know who you are. It’s only been a month since the attack, and I feel like you’ve always been my little brother.” She blinked a few times, rubbing her eyes with her hands. She wiped away one ghostly tear. 

Remus looked up from behind his knees. His body stopped shuddering with sobs. “Do you mean it?” His voice quivered. 

“Yeah Rei, yeah I do.” Janet stepped backwards. “Time to go, Lia is waiting.” 

“Alright.” Remus pushed himself to his feet and took a few shaky steps towards the fireplace. He reached into the floo powder pot, taking a pinch and throwing it into the orange flames. The fire crackled and popped, turning a vibrant emerald green. 

Remus stepped into the flames, “St. Mungo’s!” he shouted. He shut his eyes as he spun around, traveling through the Floo Network.  _ Twelve, eleven, ten, nine, eight, seven, six,  _ Remus counted in his head,  _  five, four, three, two, one.  _ His feet hit the fireplace floor, knees buckling beneath him. He dove out of the fireplace, hitting the ground and rolling over his shoulder. He landed on his rear, stunned. 

Amos’s slow, sarcastic clap brought him out of his daze. “I gotta say, that was pretty fancy. Woulda worked too, if you’d landed on your feet.” 

“Thanks.” Remus rolled his eyes, he hiccuped quietly.  

“You alright, Remus?” Elena asked, hiding her mouth behind her hand. 

“I’m good,” he responded. Amos offered him a hand, which Remus gladly took, letting the giant man pull him to his feet as though he were no heavier than a stuffed animal. 

The Floo Room at St. Mungo’s was empty, save the four of them. “Ready to go?” Lia asked. “Have you ever sidelong apparated before?” 

Remus shook his head. “No, never. My parents always travel by Floo or broom.” 

“Alright, I will go with you then. Amos, Elena, you know what to do.” 

With a loud crack, Amos and Elena disapparated. 

Lia motioned for Remus to stand next to her. “Alright, stand there. I’m going to apparate us on the count of three.” Remus leaned into Lia and she wrapped her arm around his shoulders. “One, two, three.” There was another loud crack, and for a second, Remus felt like he was being squished to a pulp. 

As suddenly as it had started, it was over. Remus dropped to the ground. His stomach heaved, the contents spilled onto the grass in front of him. “I never want to do that again,” Remus choked. 

“You’ll get used to it,” Amos chuckled. Remus stood up and brushed the dirt from his pants with his hands. 

“Follow me.” Lia tilted her head, motioning towards the woods about 100 meters from where they were standing. Lia led the way. Remus, Elena, and Amos walked in a line behind her. The sun was almost at the horizon; its watery rays barely brushed the treetops, tinging the green leaves with red. 

The quartet reached the edge of the forest. “Prepare yourselves. One minute to sunset,” Lia said. She stopped just beyond the treeline. The three others followed her, standing inside the border between the trees and meadows. “Once you transform, you will be unable to leave these woods.” 

Remus waited. He counted backwards in his head from 60. He squeezed his eyes shut when he hit 1, waiting for the transformation. He tensed his muscles in anticipation, bracing himself for the pain that was sure to come. 

Remus opened his eyes. The sun was no longer visible. It had sunk below the horizon, leaving only a glowing orange sky. He sighed in relief.  _ I’m not a wolf… they got it wrong.  _

The first wave hit, and he was completely unprepared. The first spasm rolled through his body, each nerve ending exploding as the wave bent his body into hundreds of impossible angles. Remus loosed a bloodcurdling scream. He could barely hear his bones snapping over the sound of his own voice. 

He ran out of air and screamed again. His arms and legs reformed themselves, his feet compacted, his nose elongated into a snout. All of Remus’ teeth were forced from their gums, blood streamed out of his mouth, and their gaping holes were filled by longer, sharper canines. His scream turned into a howl, Remus shut his snout when he heard it, cutting the sound off. 

Remus looked around, blinking. Two other wolves stood in front of him. The first had blonde fur and light grey eyes, the same shade as Amos’. He was easily two and a half meters tall from ears to toes. Amos howled, swiping his massive paws back and forth through the air before dropping to all fours. His muscles rippled beneath his pelt as he moved, effortlessly showing his strength. 

That meant the other wolf had to be Elena. Her wolf was smaller than Amos, around 2.3 meters tall, and much leaner. Her thick ebony fur swayed in the evening breeze. Elena joined Amos’s howl, adding her alto to his base. In a weird way, Remus thought, it sounded like music. He had the urge to join his own voice with theirs, but resisted. All of this felt so new to him, equally wrong and right. 

He brought a paw to his face, examining it. He flexed what he thought were his finger muscles, expecting his paw to move the way his hand would have. Instead, five long claws shot out from underneath the honey-colored fur at the end of his claws.

_ Where is Lia? _ Remus thought. He turned to where she had been standing, next to Amos. In her place stood a small reddish-brown bobcat.  _ Amos mentioned she was an animagus.  _ Remus dropped to all fours, and padded over to her. “ **_Lia_ ** ?” Remus tried to say, but it came out as a small bark instead. 

Lia nodded and meowed, “ **_It is me._ ** _ ” _

Remus shook his head. “ **_Why can I understand you?”_ ** He barked. 

“ **_We speak the tongue of the beasts, now that we have become beasts ourselves,”_ ** Lia explained. 

Amos growled, “ **_The barrier is up.”_ ** He motioned with his snout to the wall of golden light blocking them from the meadows. Remus looked around, Janet was nowhere to be seen. She had been only a few feet behind him when he had transformed… Now he couldn’t even see a trail of ghostly smoke to indicate where she had gone. No time to look for her now, Elena and Amos were already padding away from the entrance to the forest. Lia flicked her tail in the direction where they were headed, motioning for him to follow them. 

_ I’ll find her later,  _ Remus thought to himself. He trotted behind Amos and Elena, following them through the forest. Even though they were only walking at a moderately fast pace, Remus had to trot to keep up with them. He was at least a meter and a half shorter than Amos. 

Lia sprinted past Remus from behind and jumped, landing smoothly on Amos’s back. Amos and Elena both stopped. Amos allowed Lia to adjust her position on his back until she was securely latched on between his shoulder blades, her head just peeking up from behind his pointed ears. 

Remus yipped,  **_“what do we do now?”_ **

Elena flicked her ear.  **_“Follow us and do not speak, now is not the time for talk.”_ **

**_“Now, we hunt,”_ ** Amos growled. He dropped his nose to the ground, sniffing for a fresh scent. Elena and Remus waited quietly. He took this time to explore his new body, stretching his hind legs, flexing his forepaws, he ran his tongue along the inside of his mouth, feeling his new canine teeth. 

Amos’s tail shot into the air when his nose stopped twitching at the ground.  **_“This way.”_ ** He padded silently ahead of them. Elena followed, her noiseless pawsteps following the trail laid out by Amos. Remus took a step forward, stepping on a dry branch. It snapped between his toes. 

Amos and Elena froze mid step, swinging their heads to face him.  **_“Silently,”_ **  Amos growled. Remus nodded enthusiastically. He looked at the ground and placed his paw into the faint outline of Elena’s. They walked like this for a long time. Remus looked up every once in a while at the moon, which was slowly rising into the sky. 

Remus twitched his ears, he heard a low rushing noise coming from his left. He stopped walking, listening intently to the noise. 

**_“Running water.”_ ** Amos pointed with his snout in the direction Remus was looking.  

**_“May we stop?”_ ** Elena asked. Lia nodded in agreement. 

**_“Quickly, this trail is fresh,”_ ** Amos growled. He padded silently through the underbrush, Elena followed. Remus hesitated for a moment. He dropped his nose to the ground and inhaled deeply. He jerked his head back in surprise. The heavy musk was strong.  _ I wonder what this scent is,  _ Remus thought. 

**_“What are we following?”_ ** Remus asked, picking his nose up from the ground and following the others. 

Amos responded,  **_“a buck.”_ **

Remus thought,  _ so that’s what that smell was.  _ He nosed his way through the underbrush, sniffing curiously at each plant he passed. Remus touched a rose, taking a deep breath in. He recoiled,  _ its so strong!  _ He felt a tingling sensation in his nose,  _ no, oh nonononono.  _ “ **_ACHOO!”_ ** Remus sneezed. Amos and Elena froze in their tracks, the noise having startled them. 

**_“Sorry guys,”_ ** Remus yipped. 

**_“Do try to be quieter,”_ ** Lia mewed. Remus nodded apologetically. They wandered through the trees, Remus marveling at the sheer size of the trees that surrounded them. Most of the trees had to be at least 100 years old. Thick green vines encircled some of them, mingling with the green leaves and branches. The ground where they walked slanted down at a gentle incline. Remus could just make out the gurgling stream at the bottom of the ravine, the light of the full moon reflecting off the water as it flowed through the forest.

Amos stopped at the edge, dipping his head to take a drink from the stream. Elena followed, standing near Amos as she drank. Lia jumped off of Amos’ back, touching down smoothly with all four paws, and sinking into the dirt an inch from the weight of her landing. She sat on the ground, carefully licking and cleaning her paws and forelegs.

Remus padded forward cautiously. Pricks of discomfort wormed their way through his body as he stepped through the muddy ground. He didn’t like the way the mud squelched between his toes, it sent shivers down his spine. Remus reached the stream bank, sniffling at the water. His breath caused a little ring of ripples to form where it touched the water. 

He carefully stuck out his tongue and licked the surface. Cold smooth water rolled over his tongue, it tasted so pure, more natural than anything out of a tap back home. He took a few large gulps, deeply enjoying the unbleached taste. He lifted his head from the water when he had his fill. Remus shook his head, droplets of water flew from his muzzle into the stream. 

Remus looked down. A small, glowing ball of light rippled out of focus in the stream, the reflection of the moon wobbled and rippled with the water, its dim light just barely reflecting Remus’s own reflection in the water. 

He stared at the ill-defined image of himself in the waves. His fur was much fluffier than that Amos or Elena, theirs was coarser, tougher, his still bore the indication of youth-- featherlike and downy.  His amber eyes were much darker in the dim moonlight, shadowed by the honey-colored fur of his brow. 

**_“Come, the hunt continues.”_ ** Amos nudged Remus’s shoulder with his nose. Remus turned away from his reflection in the stream and padded slowly up the riverbank. Amos bent to his knees, allowing Lia to jump from the ground to his shoulder blades. She shifted around on his back, making herself comfortable. Elena took the lead, sniffling in the underbrush to pick up the trail which they had left. 

Her tail shot into the air when she found it, and she took off at a fast trot through the woods. Amos and Remus followed, silently padding through the trees. The moon sank slowly in the sky, Remus looked up every once in a while to see where it was. 

At last, they reached the edge of a clearing, the majority of which was hidden by tall bushes and oak trees.

Elena turned to face the other three and growled,  **_“He’s in the clearing ahead. Remus, stay here, at my howl, charge into the clearing and make as much noise as you can. Lia, climb one of the trees on the western side of the clearing and wait for him to try and escape that way, when he does, jump down and chase him to the east. I will wait there and push him north. That’s where you will be, Amos. When the buck runs to you, I want you to pounce on him and take the kill, clear?”_ **

Amos, Lia, and Remus nodded simultaneously. Lia jumped from Amos’s back and landed silently on the forest floor. Elena padded away to the left, Lia following her. Amos turned to the right. 

Remus waited. He crouched low in the bushes, waiting for Elena’s signal.  _ I wonder if they are ready yet?  _ He thought to himself. A long, alto howl pierced the still evening.  _ Elena.  _ Adrenaline coursed through his body. He sprung from his hiding place, leaping easily over the low-growing brush and into the clearing. He landed on all four paws, tilting his head to the moon as released a sonorus howl. 

The buck, who had already been startled from Elena’s howl and  bolted in the opposite direction, towards Remus, skidded to a stop a few feet from where he stood and turned west, where Lia was waiting in the trees. 

Lia dropped from her branch. Her fur puffed out to three times what it had been before, giving her the appearance of being a much bigger, scarier cat. Her ears were splayed back against her head. She landed neatly in front of the terrified buck, hissing and spitting. The buck snorted and bleated, calling for help. He stumbled over his front hooves as he swerved to avoid Lia. She followed him, chasing him in a circle around the edge of the clearing until he reached Elena. 

She jumped from where she was hiding, landing square in front of him. The buck froze mid-leap, hurriedly attempting to backpedal away from the snarling, growling wolf. He turned to the only open pathway out of the clearing. Remus, Elena, and Lia funneled him towards where Amos lay in wait. 

Just as the buck reached the edge of the clearing, Amos rocketed over the bushes, loosing a thunderous howl as he did. The buck bleated fearfully, attempting to stop himself from running straight into Amos’s waiting jaws. Amos landed on his back, shattering his spine just with the sheer weight of his own body. The buck dropped to the ground beneath him, crying weakly. 

Amos sunk his long claws into the buck’s skin, preventing any further movement. He slowly lowered his head to the buck’s neck, opening his jaws.   ****

**_“No, please.”_ ** ,buck whispered. Amos clenched his jaws around his neck, teeth ripping through flesh and bone as though it were cotton candy. He jerked his head upwards, cutting off the uttered plea for mercy with a swift twist, pulling the buck’s head clean off. He let it drop from his mouth to the forest floor. Blood leaked out of the decapitated head and neck, staining the green leaves red. 

Remus slammed his eyes shut: he couldn’t, wouldn’t see this. The sickening crunch of bone plunged him back into the warehouse. He opened his eyes. Greyback stood tall and menacing in front of him, dark grey eyes flashing with bloodlust. His great form loomed over his own small body. Remus whimpered, tail between his legs. He backed away slowly, taking shallow breaths as the panic set in. 

Greyback’s breath reeked of blood, its metallic, sickly-sweet smell forced its way up Remus’s nose. His heart pounded in his chest, his own blood thundered in his ears, turning to a rumbling roar. Panicked beyond rational thought, Remus turned tail and fled, paying no heed to the amount of noise his footsteps made. 

He tore through the underbrush, sticks, branches, and thorns whipped his face as he ran. He squinted, preventing some of the forest debris from getting into his eyes. He heard someone growl behind him,  _ nononono not Greyback, please not him,  _ Remus thought frantically. 

He picked up his speed, throwing himself further through the low growing bushes. One of the wolves was catching up to him, he saw through the corner of his eye a flash of grey fur coming up next to him.  **_“No!”_ ** Remus yipped.

**_“Remus!”_ ** He called. Remus blinked, looking back at where he had seen the grey wolf. He slowed down a little when he realized the wolf behind him was not dark grey, like Greyback, he was pure white, with light grey eyes.

Remus slowed to a stop, panting heavily. His muscles twitched in pain when he moved them, his eyelids felt heavy with fatigue.  The white wolf caught up to him. Blood tinged the fur around his muzzle pink, one other wolf trotted through the path Remus had made to stand next to the white wolf. 

He didn’t have the strength to back up, let alone run away. Instead, Remus dug his paws into the ground and bowed his head in surrender. Remus waited for the bite to the neck that would end it all. His life had been short, but he had some good memories. He shut his eyes, flinching away from the pain he expected to come. 

But none came. Instead, Remus felt a soft touch on the top of his head. He opened his eyes, inhaling the scent of the other wolf, heavy air before a storm, mountain rivers created by the spring ice melt.  _ Amos,  _ Remus thought. He nuzzled into Amos’s fur, breathing in the familiar and comforting scent. 

**_“I’m so sorry, Remus,”_ ** Amos hummed. 

**_“Remus?”_ ** He heard Lia mewl. 

Remus glanced to the side. Elena and Lia approached slowly from behind Amos.  **_“I saw the blood, smelled it, and I don’t know what happened. Suddenly I was back in the warehouse with Greyback, and I ran. I ran far away as fast as I could,”_ ** He whimpered into Amos’s fur. 

**_“I’m sorry, we shouldn’t have taken you hunting on your first transformation, that was my mistake,”_ ** Lia mewed. 

**_“It’s alright, I guess,_ ** Remus responded. 

**_“The moon has almost set. Are you ready to go home now?”_ ** Lia asked. 

**_“Yes.”_ ** Remus sank to his stomach, letting his legs fold beneath him. He shivered in the cold of the night. Amos lay down next to him, curling his body around Remus protectively. Elena followed suit, she curled her body around him on the other side of him, creating a nest around Remus. He sighed in relief as a feeling of warm safety enveloped him. 

Lia snuggled herself on top of Remus’s back, quietly grooming around his ears and head, the way a mother cat would clean her kitten. He closed his eyes in contentment.  _ This is my family,  _ he thought to himself. A smile twitched at his lip., He let the heavy feeling behind his eyelids push him into a deep sleep. 

 

                                                                 The sun rose. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amos seems like a jerk, but he can be a total fluffball sometimes too. also, in case it isn't clear, here is a description of Amos, Lia, and one of Elena.  
> Elena: Short, dark brown, curly hair which is usually pulled back in a loose braid, and brown eyes, tan skin, four deep gashes across her face. perfectly manicured nails, impeccable eye makeup, small button nose, full lips, gently curved eyebrows. Narrow waist, wider hips and shoulders. Usually wears a jean jacket and heeled boots. 26 years old.  
> Amos: 6'7, massive man. Is a body builder, short blonde hair, tanned skin, light grey eyes. Sharp chin, straight nose. well defined cheek bones. usually has a light dusting of stubble. Has a mess of scars on his upper abdomen which no one other than the doctors who sewed him up and Elena (wink wink) have seen. very broad shoulders, small waist and hips. (Dorito man) usually wears tank tops and gym shorts, no matter the weather, even if it is 0 degrees C. Radiates heat like a furnace. 31 years old.  
> Long blonde hair, usually tied back in a bun. light green/blue ish eyes. pointed nose, thin lips, the start of crows feet around her eyes. Smiles a lot, doesnt wear makeup. usually wears a sweater and skirt.


	6. After the Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO! I am back. Sorry it's been a while, I have been very busy. I will go back to my regular posting schedule, as promised. Every Sunday.   
> Comments kudos and critiques always welcome!   
> I do now own HP

The sunlight dancing across Remus’s eyes drew him from the realm of unconsciousness. He contentedly rolled over, stretching his arms to help some of his morning stiffness dissipate. Leaves crunched under his body as he rolled, but at the moment, he was too drugged with sleep to care that he was asleep on a forest floor, in the woods, not his mattress in his house. 

Remus scrunched his face, he felt a thin layer of dampness clinging to his skin. The rays of the sun heated the side of him facing the sun, but the half of him that was touching the ground felt chilled. He rolled to his back, smiling in pleasure as the sun warmed the rest of him.  _ Better.  _ He smiled.  _ I could lie here forever.  _

“Mornin Remus!” a loud, obnoxious voice interrupted his calm, dreamy thoughts. He reluctantly peeled one eye partially open to determine who  _ exactly  _ had the audacity to wake him from his much deserved slumber. 

The blurry form of Amos hovered above him. “Ughh,” Remus groaned. “Go away. It’s too early.” 

“What do you mean? It’s one in the afternoon!” Amos chuckled. 

“Move. You’re in my sun,” Remus whined. 

“Come on, up and at ‘em.” 

Remus closed his eyes and curled himself into a ball.“No.” 

“Alright, fine then,” Amos huffed, picking up a nearby stick. “Guess you’ll miss out on the fresh bacon and venison we’re cooking for brunch…” 

“Bacon?” 

“Bacon, yeah, come and get it.” Amos picked a few spare twigs off his stick. 

“Maybe later,” Remus mumbled. 

“Fine…” He walked away, Remus listened to his feet crunch in the leaves as he left.  _ Wait… Leaves?  _ Remus opened his eyes, he blinked a few times, to help his eyes adjust to the afternoon sun. Clear blue sky stretched for miles above him, broken only by the intermittent overhanging branch from one of the trees surrounding the clearing he was in. 

Propping himself to his elbow, Remus examined the ground where he had been sleeping. He brushed one hand lightly across the grass, skimming the tips with his palm. Here and there was the occasional russet leaf which had broken from its stem and fallen to the ground. 

He jumped to his feet, the smell of bacon wafting in his direction giving him the incentive he needed to rise from his earthy bed. He followed the smokey tang of bacon that brushed over the roof of his mouth. It led him across the clearing, he saw the smoke from the fire wafting into the sky. 

Its thin black form reminded Remus of a ribbon being twirled by a small girl in his class he had seen one day.  She had been walking home with her father, practising a dance, one where she twirled the ribbon around herself, then let it fly out behind her in a never ending game of tag. 

Remus remembered watching from a few paces behind, her father chuckled as the ribbon twisted itself around her tiny hands, after an unexpected gust of wind redirected its tail. The little girl untwisted the ribbon and continued her dance. The father sighed, mirth filling his gaze, and placed one of his hands around her shoulders.

The girl stopped twirling the ribbon, letting it fall to her side. She looked up at her father, blinking her bright green eyes, “I love you, dad.” 

“I love you too, pumpkin.” he smiled down at her lovingly, brushing a strand of carrot orange hair out of the girl’s eyes. The girl giggled, holding the green ribbon out to her father. He huffed in amusement, taking the ribbon and bending down on one knee. 

The girl turned around so her back was facing her father. Remus stopped behind them, intently watching the pair. The father gently pulled her curly red hair back, tying it together using the ribbon, knotting it then tying a bow. “All done!” 

“Thanks, Dad!” the girl jumped once in delight. A leaf blew across the sidewalk, the girl chased after it, running ahead of her father. He stood, waiting a moment before following her, calling words of caution, but smiling nonetheless. 

He remembered feeling envious of  the girl as he walked home, alone. His parents wouldn’t come home until after dinner, they would kiss him goodnight and tuck him into bed then shut off the light, casting a small lumos for him in the corner of the room. 

He didn’t see them in the mornings most days. His mother had to run to her job at the local gym as a personal trainer before the sun rose. His father rarely even came home, his job as an auror was so taxing that he would sometimes spend three days in a row in the field or working the helpline. It was a blessing that alertness and sleep replenishment charms had been discovered. Without them, Remus feared, his father would not make it home at all. 

Before that day, Remus had thought every family was like his; made of small, captured moments of togetherness, and detached by long stretches of separation. Seeing them together, the absent minded free time they spent together, Remus envied the girl and her father, wondering what it wa that gave her the right to spend more time with her father than he could. 

He asked his mother that night, before they turned out the light, his father hadn’t come home that night, “Mom, why can’t you or dad walk me home from school?” 

“Remus, we both would absolutely love to, and perhaps one day we will. Right now is a very challenging time for us, you understand don’t you?” she frowned, brushing his honey colored hair out of his eyes. 

“I mean I guess. But today I saw a girl in my class walking home with her dad, why can’t we do that too?” 

“Oh Remus,” was all his mother could come up with. 

Remus blinked, and the memory was gone. He approached the fire and his friends, shaking his head in an attempt to rid himself of the negative feelings the memory had dragged to the surface. He understood that his parents needed to work, needed the time it would take to walk him back from school to earn enough to support their family, but still, that little voice in his head whispered,  _ maybe if one of them had been there, none of this would have happened.  _

“Good afternoon, Remus!” Lia called, waving him over to sit next to her on the ground. He did as he was bid, seating himself between Elena and Lia. 

“Hi guys,” He greeted, yawning. 

“Bacon for you?” Amos held out his stick, which had a large piece of bacon stuck on the end. 

“Yes please.” Remus eagerly responded, taking the stick from Amos. Remus stuck one end of the piece of meat in his mouth and chewed, ripping off a part of it then holding the rest over the dirt. 

The bacon was dripping with grease, it spilled over Remus’s chin and into the dirt. He wiped a hand across his mouth to rid himself of it. 

“We have some time before we have to go back. If you want to explore, feel free.” Lia smiled, “these woods are very beautiful during the day. So are the moors.” 

“I think I’ll go do that.” Remus responded, popping the last piece of bacon into his mouth. He chewed on the fatty flesh and swallowed, savoring the greasy goodness. 

He stood up from the ground, and brushed some of the dirt off of his pants. “When do you want me back by?” 

“Try for 10:00 pm. We promised your parents we would bring you back tonight.” Lia smiled, “go have fun! Explore!” she waved him off. 

“Alright, thanks!” Remus called over his shoulder.  _ Where is Janet?  _ He wondered. He had not seen her since the previous night, before they entered the woods. He decided to start his search on the moors, the last place he had seen her. 

The leaves were just beginning to turn; everywhere Remus looked, he saw different shades of color. Green, red, yellow, orange, all of them in various stages of change. Sunlight pouring through the trees hit every leaf in its path, transforming them into glowing lights. Remus smiled inwardly, the Yuletide season was fast approaching. another few months and the holidays would be upon them. 

He skipped merrily along the path, following its twists and curves until he reached the edge of the forest. Remus stopped a few meters from the trees, panting. He placed his hands on his knees and sat back slowly. Remus closed his eyes and focused on his breath, the way Lia had taught him to do if he ever felt unsafe or needed to calm down, and waited for his heart rate to slow down to normal. It wasn’t that he felt as if he were in danger, Remus just needed to pause and catch his breath as well as figure out where Janet had gone. 

_ She’s got to be around here somewhere, she’s anchored to me because of the necklace.  _ Remus deduced. He sat in silence, letting the sunlight warm his face. 

“Well, where in Merlin’s bloody beard have you been?” Janet snarled. “I’ve spent the past  _ day  _ looking for you, and now you just…” she paused, glaring straight into his eyes, “ _ show _ up?” 

“Janet!” Remus yipped in surprise, “Where have you been? You disappeared right after we entered the woods!” 

“I disappeared--” she cut herself off, “YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS VANISHED INTO THE WOODS!” She shouted furiously. “I shouted to you, called to you, but you didn’t hear me! It was like as soon as you passed through the trees you couldn’t see, couldn’t hear me! I tried to go after you, but something stopped me from passing through into the forest. I spent the past day wandering around out here hoping you would show up!” 

“I had no idea, Janet I’m so sorry.” Remus apologized, looking everywhere but at her. 

She sighed deeply, crossing her arms over her body. “Where’s the rest of your pack?”

“My what?” Remus spluttered. 

“Your pack? Lia, Amos, Elena?” 

“That’s what Greyback called it…” Remus whispered. “He said that I was going to join his  _ pack. _ ” 

“Oh dear, Remus I didn’t realize that…” Janet frowned, “what does Lia call it?” 

“I dunno, she never called it anything really…” Remus replied. 

“Well, where are they?” Janet asked, changing the subject. 

Remus pointed towards the trees, “back in the woods, they told me to go explore and come back so we could all travel to the hospital together.” 

“Huh,” Janet uncrossed her arms, “since we’re here, I could show you around if you like? I did spend the past day exploring.” 

“Okay!” Remus responded cheerfully, pushing himself up from the ground. 

Janet held out her hand, “here, follow me, I wanna show you something.” 

“What is it?” he asked, tilting his head to the left. 

“It’s a surprise.” Janet giggled. “Catch me if you can!” She galloped across the moor, laughter carrying over her shoulder. He chased after her, flamboyantly batting at the dandelions as he ran.  They left a trail of fluff in their wake, it swirled and blew into the sky, then faded into the cool wind that streamed through the air. 

“Janet! I can’t keep up!” Remus called, panting. 

“No need to worry, Rei, we’re here.” She stopped and pointed ahead of her. 

“What?” Remus asked between breaths, “what is it?” 

He placed his hands on his knees and breathed in deeply. Remus looked where Janet was pointing, his chin dropped in awe. “Whaa?” he asked, dumbfounded. 

The hill they were standing on dropped suddenly in a sheer cliff face, about three meters in height. Below was another field, full of dandelions. Because the wind was blowing towards Remus and Janet, it funneled through and picked up the dandelion fluff, swirling it through the air around them. As far as he could see, the sky was full of the dandelion fuzz. 

“Isn’t it just wonderful?” Janet sighed. She reached out one hand to catch some of the floating white seeds, cupping her hands around the first one that came near. It passed right through the back of her hand and continued floating away. 

“Oh, right. I forgot…” Janet dropped her hands to her sides. 

“Janet, I’m sorry.” Remus said gently. 

“No, it’s okay, I should be used to this by now. I just…” she trailed off, looking forlornly across the moors. 

“You just what?” Remus asked softly. 

“I was just remembering a time with my parents. I was your age, and we went camping. I hated it mostly because there were spiders everywhere, that made Capella laugh, that I was so scared of them, but this one day, we went to a field similar to this. Jamie grabbed some dandelion fluff from the air and then blew it off her hand. I liked it because it looked like stardust, so Jamie showed me how to catch it. We spent the whole afternoon chasing dandelions.” Janet smiled wistfully, wiping away one ghostly tear. “I really miss my parents.” 

“Here,” Remus reached up and caught one of the floating dandelions and held it out to her. 

“Remus,” Janet smiled fondly. She bent down, until she was chin level with Remus’s hand. “On the count of three?” 

“Yeah,” Remus smiled. 

“Don’t forget to make a wish!” Janet reminded him. 

“Okay!” he nodded. 

“One” 

“Two” 

“Three,” Remus and Janet blew on the dandelion fluff, sending it fluttering away into the evening sky to rejoin its companions. 

_ I want to go to Hogwarts,  _ Remus closed his eyes and repeated his wish twice more. 

“What did you wish for?” Janet asked. 

“Can’t tell, otherwise it won’t come true.” Remus crossed his arms stubbornly. “What did you wish for?” 

“I’m not telling. You said it yourself, and I want mine to come true too.” Janet chuckled. 

“Pleaseee? I’ll tell you mine if you tell me?” Remus begged. 

“Nope. Come, it’s getting late. I’ll wait outside the forest while you go get your friends. I can’t enter for some reason. We should figure that out, can you ask Lia?” Janet stood up. 

“I have an idea.” Remus said thoughtfully. 

“I’m all ears,” Janet responded. 

“What if,” Remus paused, “what if you can’t enter because you’re a werewolf too?” 

“You lost me,” Janet said, perplexed. 

“Well, you got bitten by werewolves, so technically you are also a werewolf, right?” Remus scratched his head. 

“Yeah, but I was killed before the transformation was complete,” she frowned. 

“Exactly, which means you are human and werewolf, since you were killed in the middle of a transformation.” 

“Merlin’s beard, Remus you are a genius, that’s why I couldn’t follow you through the barrier.” Janet slapped her forehead with her hand. 

“But why aren’t you in wolf form then?” Remus asked. 

“Because ghosts can choose to come back in the form they feel to be best fitting. The Bloody Baron wears his chains as a reminder of what he did. Nearly Headless Nick came back in his deathly state in the hopes he could join the Headless Hunt. I came back as myself a few weeks before I died.” 

“Oh,” Remus wrinkled his brow, “but then why are you still so skinny?” 

“Um… ask me that when you’re older, I’ll tell you then. That isn’t a conversation for right now.” Janet looked away, cheeks turning pink. 

“Alright, I need to go get the others anyways. I’ll see you here in a bit?” 

“I’m not going anywhere.” Janet dropped down to her knees. “I’ll be here, make it quick?” she asked. 

“You got it.” Remus called over his shoulder, he took off across the moor, headed for the distant treeline.  

Remus breathed in deeply, he loved the smell of the autumn breeze; crisp and clear, amplified by his wolfish senses. Even before his heightened senses, Remus loved the fall winds. Not just the smell, or the coldness, there was a feeling he got, that Autumn feeling. Like the year was finally falling away, preparing for its eternal sleep, and waiting for the new year to relieve it. 

The days were leaves, falling to the ground as time ticked by. By the time December 31 rolled around, there was only one leaf left, the last leaf, clinging to its branch in the forest of bare trees. It feebly fluttered in the winter wind, barely hanging on to its branch. A large gust swept through the leafless forest, sending the final leaf whirling away through the forest. 

Its tree shivered in the wind, ice chips falling from its branches and shattering on the frozen ground. Soon the sun came out, melting the ice, and bringing new life to the sleeping forests. 

Wolves roamed through the woods, taking advantage of the newly grown grass by basking in the rays of the springtime sun. Two winters, two springs, two summers flew by in the blink of an eye. 

***

“Mom, I’m going to make some eggs,” Remus called from the kitchen. It had been two years since Greyback. Since then, Remus had figured out how to deal with the aftermath, taught by Lia, helped along by Elena, given the occasional shove in the right direction by Amos, and the unwavering support he had received from Janet. 

Without her, Remus thought, he would be far away from where he was now. Her cheerful, sarcastic, and affectionate, presence always made him smile, even on the worst days. Today, today was something special, it was Remus’s birthday. 

That morning, Janet had awoken him by accidentally popping one of the balloons she had stuffed inside his room when she was setting down a singing cactus in the center of his room. Remus had woken up to over 50 balloons crammed into his small room, and being sung to by a horrendously off key cactus. He only recognized the song as “Happy Birthday,” because the cactus was very good at enunciating the words. 

Janet had facepalmed, and apologized, explaining that the cactus was supposed to wake him up, not the balloon. Remus just laughed and thanked her. He asked her where she had gotten the cactus and the balloons, she just glared at him, telling him that if he wanted to wake up to warm sunshine instead of cold water for the next week he shouldn’t ask. 

Remus knew she was joking. He flipped the eggs he was cooking, his father had said that he was an exceptionally good cook, for an 11 year old. He tossed the egg tortilla onto a nearby plate, then proceeded to wash his pan and spatula. Remus placed the plate on the table and headed out to the letter box. 

He opened the lid and pulled out three letters, one was for his father, a recent report from the ministry, he could tell because his father’s name and address were written in purple ink, underneath was a letter for his mother. 

The final letter was much heavier than the other two, and written on brown parchment. Written in green font on the front was, 

Mr R. Lupin

The Corner Bedroom

5 Steele Rd, 

Bruce Grove,

Haringey.

Remus breathed in sharply, “MOM! DAD! COME QUICK! I GOT MY LETTER!” 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to do a time jump... *Runs away*


	7. The Night Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Janet POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry. I have been crazy busy these past few weeks, on top of that I forgot my computer while I was away, and when I got back, the day I got back, I got super sick, so finding time to write has been crazy difficult. Here is another chapter, I'm sorry its short. I am going to change my posting days to Mondays.   
> Janet needed a POV chapter, a lot of teenage anxiety. She is trapped as a 16 year old girl forever sooo....   
> also there's a children's book reference in the middle. see if you can catch it. I'll point it out at the bottom.   
> Kudos, comments and critiques are always appreciated.

Janet didn’t need to sleep. At first, this was a blessing, she had all the time she could ever want to herself to plan pranks for Remus. But having an extra eight hours, alone, in a dark room, just spent thinking? Well, one’s head can go to some pretty dark places. Especially if it’s a return trip. 

But… staying 16 forever is awesome. Right? In theory, yes. People write songs all the time about staying “forever young.” but it isn’t what it seems. Janet had to admit that when she was alive, she sang just as loudly as everyone else to the new records, but now that she was dead, and she had her eternal youth, Janet wondered if it really was as good as the songs said it was. 

     Janet sat down on the window sill and turned her gaze to the sky, as she did every evening when Remus was asleep. She was getting stronger. Janet could move heavier objects, open and close doors, even cast a few minor spells. 

     She didn’t know exactly why her abilities were getting stronger, but she guessed that it was because she was spending time around Remus. He saw her, knew of her existence, and because of that, because someone else believe so strongly in her, she became more solid, more  _ real.  _ As least, that’s what she thought. 

      But then again, she wasn’t made of velveteen, and most of the time, wishes didn’t come true in the real world. She sighed. Another thing she didn’t technically have to do now that breathing was optional. 

     Her breath froze on the window, even though it was warm outside. Bored, Janet nonchalantly traced her fingers along the glass, cutting a shape into the ice. First the circle of a head, then the snout and ears, a long body sitting with its tail curled around its forelegs. She finished it off by adding a nose and eyes, as well as some whiskers and puppy fluff around the ears. 

    She wasn’t the best artist in the world, but she had to admit that it bore a striking resemblance to Remus. She stretched her arms over her head and leans back until her body was flush with the side of the window.  _ Three more hours till sunrise.  _ She thought. 

     She closed her eyes, letting her mind wander back, farther than it had in a while. 

_ “Mom?” eleven year old Janet called.  _

_ “Yes Jan?” Capella answered.  _

_ “What if I get put into a house, and everyone there hates me?” _

_ Capella set down her wand and polish. “Now why would they hate you?”  _

_ “I dunno,” Janet jumped off her chair at the kitchen table and scurried over to where her mother was sitting. “Can I sit in your lap”  _

_ “Of course you can.” Capella reached out her hands, Janet gleefully launched herself into her mother’s arms, shifting her body until she was comfortably wrapped around her mother’s torso. “Now what’s this nonsense about your housemates not liking you?”  _

_ Janet frowned, absent-mindedly spinning a lock of Capella’s curly black hair around her finger, “what if something happens?”  _

_ “What’s going to happen, Jan? They are going to love you. Don’t worry about what could happen, and instead enjoy the moments ahead of you. You’re going to Hogwarts tomorrow! The best seven years of your life are going to start the minute you set foot on the train.” she wrapped her arms around Janet protectively, “Jamie and I both love you so much. We are so excited for you, and if anything happens, we are only an owl away.”  _

_ “Okay, I believe you.” Janet grinned, an idea popping into her head, “Can we go get ice cream? It’s our last chance to do it before I leave.”  _

_ “Sure! I’ll go get Jamie and we can all fly there together.”  _

Janet blinked her eyes open. She smiled as the warmth of the memory sent happy chills down her spine. The sun was just rising, its watery rays seeped through the canopy of leaves surrounding Remus’s window. Another hour, and Remus would be awake. She decided to take a stroll around the house, as she often did. She stood up from her window seat, quietly making her way through the door.

She found herself by the front door, a place she liked to sit and watch the early morning traffic crawl by. The postman usually came by around this time, dropping of letters and bills at each house. 

Like clockwork, he showed up in his little truck, dropping letters into the mailboxes that were so strategically placed at the ends of their neighbors yards. He arrived at their house, and walked down the drive to the slat in the door. They didn’t have a mailbox since Remus’s mother had tried to teach his father how to drive a muggle car, and he had ended up backing over it. They kept forgetting to replace it, and by this time, the postman was so used to putting it through the slat that it would be almost useless to do. 

Janet watched him put the day’s mail through and walk back to his truck. She continued staring out the window, paying no attention to the owl that landed on the signpost at the end of the street. It flew closer, then dropped the letter it was holding, flying off into the distance. Janet looked down, there was a new letter on top of the pile. It was addressed to Remus! 

She would recognize that parchment anywhere. Janet delightfully smiled, picking up the letter and turning it over. There in red wax was the official Hogwarts seal. Today was going to be a great day for Remus, no matter what. Apparently, Albus Dumbledore didn’t mind that Remus was a werewolf. Thank Merlin for that.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams


	8. The First Time 'Round

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janet remembers some things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was saving this Janet POV for later, but it just kind of fell into place here. I really wanted to expand on her character, explain more why she is the way she is, how this came to be etc, because the only people as of right now who know more than what is written about Janet are myself and a friend of mine who occasionally betas for me and kindly listens to me yap about Janet. I wanted to give y'all more back ground to her so she isn't just a random character. The next few chapters are going to be shorter and they will be spread further apart. I won't give anything solid other than that at least one will be up before july 18. I am going to a place where internet is not really a thing.   
> PS little bit of making out later in the chapter, jut a fair warning.   
> thank you for reading, Kudos comments and critiques are much appreciated

Remus held the parchment in his hands as if it was the most priceless diamond. He got a letter, from  _ Hogwarts!  _ Albus Dumbledore had chosen  _ him  _ to go to the best wizarding school in the world. There was only one logical reaction; Black enveloped his vision, his knees buckled, and he fell to the floor, clutching his letter. 

“Well, that was a little underwhelming,” Janet snarked. Remus didn’t move, he was completely unconscious, lying in the middle of the floor.  _ This is not a good way for his parents to find him.  _ Janet thought. 

She drifted into the kitchen, and opened the cabinet door.  _ Still can’t believe I’m strong enough to do this,  _ she marveled. Janet wrapped her ghostly fingers around one of the glasses, and filled it with cold water from the ice box. As she drifted out of the kitchen, Janet noticed a black pen sitting on the counter.  _ Waaay too good an opportunity to pass up,  _ she smirked.

Armed with a pen in one hand and a glass of water in the other, Janet floated back out of the kitchen to where Remus was sleeping on the floor. She set the glass down to the side and knelt next to him. Holding the pen cap in her right hand, she sketched a mustache on to his upper lip with her left hand.  _ Hmmmm…  _ she debated,  _ should I add more, or leave it as is?  _

Janet chewed on the pen cap, which did nothing to the actual item, other than leaving some ectoplasm on the top.  _ Nah, looks good as is.  _ She capped the pen, and put it back on the counter.

She picked up the water glass and positioned herself right over Remus. She reached down with one hand and affectionately brushed the hair away from his eyes, “Rei Rei, time to wake up, your parents will be here soon.” He didn’t stir.  _ Well, I tried the nice way.  _ she thought. 

Janet tipped the glass of water so that it spilled in front of his face, but not directly on it, she wasn’t  _ cruel  _ after all. Another memory resurfaced, this one was not as benign as most of the others. 

_ 16 year old Janet walks into the fourth floor girls bathroom clutching a stink bomb. She casts, “engorgio!” making it three times the side it had been before. Then she casts a disillusionment charm as she leaves the restroom.  _

_ Janet makes her way to the Gryffindor common room, before she climbs the last staircase, she casts a quick disillusionment charm on her Ravenclaw badge, then scampers up the last set of stairs to the meeting place.  _

_ Her partner in crime is already there waiting for her, Teivel Thorne of Slytherin house held the matching enlarged dung bomb. “Ready, love?” Teivel asked, speaking with a northern London accent. She reached for Janet’s hand, eagerly clasping it with hers, and giving it an affectionate squeeze. _

_ Janet squeezes her hand back, “as ever. Those Gryffindors won’t know what has hit them.” she pecks Teivel lightly on the lips. “I already set up the rest inside when I tricked Marcus into letting me in.”  _

_ “You really should have been in Slytherin,” Teivel declares.  _

_ “I love my claws, but if I were in Slytherin, we would be able to spend more time together.” Janet lightly brushes through Teivel’s curly, light brown hair with her fingers.  _

_ Changing the subject, Teivel asks, “how did you convince him anyways?”  _

_ Janet looks down, “I promised him something.”  _

_ Teivel cocks her head to the side, concerned, “will he be getting-- it?”  _

_ “Nope.” Janet smiles, “my heart is for you and you alone.”  _

_ “Aren’t you sweet.” Teivel leans in for a longer kiss, pressing her lips casually against Janet’s, as though they have done this hundreds of times before. She drapes herself across Janet’s body, and wraps her arms around Janet’s neck.  _

_ After a few lovely minutes, Janet ends their kiss subtly, “mmm,” she hums, “should we go now? The portrait hole won’t stay open forever.” _

_ “If we must.” Teivel untangles herself from Janet, and stands. She retrieves her dung bomb from the niche where it had been hiding. Janet follows suit. They walk the few feet to the portrait hole where Janet had wedged the Fat Lady all the way open using a removable sticking charm. The passageway is wide open in front of them.  _

_ “On three, love?” Teivel grins. _

_ Janet returns the smile, “one.” _

_ “Two,” they both wind up their throws, Janet in her left hand, Teivel in her right.  _

_ “THREE!” they throw the dung bombs into the common room, just as the timer went off on the rest of the items they had stuffed inside. The Quidditch team had just come back from practice, so the common room was as full as it was going to get. The screams and shouts of surprise echoing down the halls a moment later confirms for them that their pranks are working perfectly.  _

_ Janet can barely keep up with Teivel, she is running so fast. After the fifth flight of stairs, both girls are panting and heaving. They stop once they reached the ladder for the Astronomy Tower.  _

_ “How about that, Jenny love, eh?” Teivel beams, she clutches at her sides, waiting for her breath to even out.  _

_ “This will go down in history as the best prank ever pulled.” Janet climbs the ladder first, and makes her way to their favorite corner of the Astro Tower. Teivel follows behind, reaching for Janet’s hand.  _

_ They touch hands, Janet drops to the ground, pulling Teivel on to her lap. “Another,” Teivel accents every word with a kiss, “successful-- spectacular-- prank.” she leaves her lips where they are, kissing Janet passionately, letting her arms go back to being wrapped around her neck.  _

_ Janet nods enthusiastically in agreement, kissing Teivel with just as much passion. She gently places her hands around her waist, helping her to stay balanced while straddling her lap.  _

_ Their bliss was short lived, “Janet Murray! Teivel Thorne!” Get your sorry arses to Dumbledore’s office, NOW!” shouts a familiar voice.  _

_ Teivel rolls off instantly, standing up just as fast, “Merlin’s balls, that’s the Gryffindor prefect!”  _

_ “Oh no,” Janet sighs, “it looks like he brought Marcus with him too.”  _

_ “What the hell do we do?” Teivel frantically paces back and forth.  _

_ “If we confund them, maybe we can get away.” Janet thinks aloud.  _

_ “Good idea, let’s roll.” Teivel rips open the door leading back to the castle, at the same time, she and Janet shout, “Confundo!” Marcus and the prefect fall to the ground, unconscious and covered in stink bomb.  _

_ “Run!!” Teivel shouts. Janet chases after Teivel as she weaves through the halls. She makes a sharp turn, janet goes to follow, but finds that Teivel has vanished.  _

_ “Tea?” Janet calls, breath coming in gasps. No response. Janet cautiously walks down the hall, heading in the direction of the Ravenclaw common room. Fifteen minutes had gone by before Janet hears someone say her name.  _

_ “Janet Murray?” Dumbledore is standing at the end of the hallway. His arms are folded, his glasses resting at the bottom of his nose. The ever present glint in his eyes shines with anger, rather than its usual amusement.  _

_ “You need to come with me.” He states. Janet freezes. She has run out of logical options. “Professor, Sir, I can explain.” she tries to reason.  _

_ “There is no need.” he spins on his heel, “follow me to my office.”  _

_ Janet gulps, even though every part of her is telling her to run, she follows him up to his office. In one of the two armchairs facing Dumbledore’s desk, Teivel sits, staring blankly at the wall.  _

_ “You may go, Ms. Thorne.” Teivel stands up hurriedly, skirting around Janet as though she was afraid of her.  _

_ “Tea?” Janet askes, concerned. Teivel looks anywhere but at her. The door slams behind her as she leaves.  _

_ Dumbledore points to the seat across from him. Janet sits in the chair where Teivel had not been.“Ms. Thorne tells me that it was completely your idea to set up this prank, that you were the one who orchestrated and manipulated her into following along, that you blackmailed her into setting off fireworks and dung bombs in the Gryffindor common room.” Dumbledore steeples his hands on his desk.  _

_ “Wait but I--” Janet tries to interrupt. _

_ Dumbledore holds up a hand to silence her, “we have solid evidence, as well as two confunded students, proving this story. Do you want to say anything to help your case before I give you your punishment?”  _

_ “Yes, I--” Janet pauses. If she says anything to the contrary then it will hurt Teivel. As confused as she is, where had this story come from? She can’t do anything to jeopardize Teivel. She just can’t.  _

_ “No, Sir. it is all correct. This is completely my fault. I take full responsibility.” She bows her head. _

_ “In that case, I deduct 100 house points, and I am suspending you for the end of the term. Come back when you feel you no longer have to act out in this way. This is far from the first time I have seen you here.” He points to the door, “go collect your things, the carriage is waiting for you.”  _

_ “Yes, sir.” Janet slowly stands from her seat and opens the door. She trudges down the hall, letting the door slam behind her. None of this could be real, suspended? From Hogwarts? She had to find Teivel, ask her what was going on. _

_ When she gets to the Ravenclaw dorms, she finds that her trunk has already been put in front of the door. Filch stands, waiting for her.  _

_ “Follow me, your carriage awaits.” Filch cackles at his own sarcasm. Mrs. Norris runs ahead, her tail twitching in the air. Janet casts a silent levitation charm and floats her trunk behind her. They march through the halls to the exit. Students were oddly absent, Janet didn’t see a single one on her way out.  _

_ “Where is everyone?” she asks bravely.  _

_ “Professors decided to give everyone early check after the stunt you pulled.” Filch answers her.  _

_ Janet clenches her fist in silent anger. They reach the entrance hall. “Out you go,” Filch gleefully opens one of the doors and all but pushes her out. Janet sighs, and leans against the closed door.  _

_ From right next to her, a voice suddenly speaks, “so you’re the punished prankster?”  _

_ “Wha? Who?” Janet jumps, her voice stuttering, “Who the hell are y--” then it dawns on her, “Peeves?”  _

_ “Right in one.” the disembodied voice laughs.  _

_ “Where are you?” Janet asks, looking around.  _

_ Peeves pokes his head through the door, “here!”  _

_ “Ahh!” Janet yipps in surprise, “what are you doing here?”  _

_ “Heard about the prank you pulled.” Peeves flips to his back and floats the rest of his body through the door, “would have been one of the best this place has ever seen, if you hadn’t gotten caught.” _

_ “Um, thanks? I guess?” Janet pulls at the sleeve of her robe.  _

_ “Next time, if you work with me, you won’t.” Peeves sticks out his hand.  _

_ “You’re asking me,” Janet grins, “to work with you on your next pranks?”  _

_ “I am. You have skill. I want to help you hone that talent. You wouldn’t have gotten caught anyways if your old partner hadn’t squealed.” Peeves chuckles to himself.  _

_ “No, no Tea wouldn’t do that to me.” Janet states.  _

_ “It’s the only way you could have been caught, the plan was fool proof.” Peeves puts his hands on his hips and stares at Janet while hanging upside down, “listen to me, I was there.”  _

_ “N-no.” Janet’s voice breaks, “she wouldn’t h-have, I l-loved--” She stutters to a stop.  _

_ “Are y-you sure?” Janet asks, blinking back the tears that were threatening to fall.  _

_ “Yeah I’m sure, I was there in Dumbledore’s office, and when she was telling the prefects where to go.” Peeves throws Janet what looks like a sympathetic glance, “sorry about that, but if you work with me, then that won’t happen.”  _

_ “Alright,” Janet decides, “as soon as I get back, we’re going to run this school, you and me.”   _

_ “Wonderful, “ Peeves grins, “I look forward to seeing you next term.” He floats back through the door.  _

_ The carriage rolls up on to the long drive, its door popping open for her. Janet stumbles down the stairs, levitating her trunk into the back of the trunk. She gets in, the door shuts behind her. She feels the carriage jerk into the air, this should have worried her, but her mind is too focused on the coldness of betrayal she is feeling.  _

_ Tea had actually given her up, and not only that, made it seem like she was responsible for everything. How could she have been so ignorant to this double cross? The coldness of her betrayal wis soon replaced by a fiery anger. She is going to destroy Teivel. Make her regret ever double crossing her. _

_ Janet sighs and leans her head back on the seat. She closes her eyes, and when she opens them again, the carriage is at a standstill in front of King’s Cross Station. Janet exits the carriage, and lifts her trunk from the back. The carriage takes off, disappearing into the night. _

_ “Janet Murray?” says a low, gravelly voice.  _

_ “Who wants to know?” Janet asks.  _

_ “My name is Joey, this is my partner, Mike. We are here to escort you to the Ministry.” Joey points to the black sedan.  _

_ “What? Why?” Janet looks around, confused. There is no one else in the parking lot but them.  _

_ “Your mother, Jamie, there was an encounter with a werewolf known as Greyback. She might not make it, you must come with me.” Joey points to the car again, Mike opens the back door.  _

_ “Merlin, of course I’ll go, where is she?” Janet all but sprints to the car. Before she reaches the door, something hits her hard on the back of the head. She falls forward, mid step, and attempts to blink away the dark spots clouding her vision. Her hands are jerked behind her back and tied together.  _

_ She feels someone roughly wrench her jaw open and stuff a filthy rag into her mouth. She tries to scream, or wriggle enough to stand up but one of them puts their boot into her back, pinning her to the ground.  _

_ One of them reaches down to her face, and holds a weird smelling liquid under her nose. A second later, Janet’s vision fades to black.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cliff hanger I'm sorry   
> Janet is such a prankster  
> also, dropping a hint, remember the partnership between Peeves and Janet, it comes back later!


	9. An Accidental Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tonks Time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, there's a lot here, firstly, I AM SO SORRY. I meat to get this done and post it weeks ago. it is fairly short as well, i wish i could have made it longer, bu ive been dealing with a lot recently, and writing kinda took a back seat for a while. I feel like I owe an explanation, so here it is. I have been pulling double shifts at work recently, so that took a lot of time, but I also quite recently lost a friend. its been difficult for me to concentrate on my writing because of that. I will be dedicating an OC to her, she will appear in the next few chapters.   
> kudos comments and critiques always appreciated   
> also, i was going to post a SB POV, but someone asked for some Tonks, so here she is, Toddler Tonks!

****

Morning sunlight batted at the curtains shielding Nymphadora’s windows. It streamed into her room through the gaps in the fabric, shining rays across the sleeping toddler’s face. Not wanting to wake up, Nymphadora rolled to her stomach and pulled her pillow over her head. 

This was comfortable to her for about 15 seconds, until she tried to take another breath and found that her breathing was restricted by the layers of bedding and mattress below her.  

With practiced ease, she transformed her nose into an elephant trunk, and allowed it to hang off the head of the bed between the board and mattress. Now that she could breathe normally again, Nymphadora sighed and snuggled deeper into the blankets. 

Nymphadora was about to fall back asleep when she heard the door creek open slowly.  _ Parents probably checking on me. Not caring. Going sleep back again now.  _

“Good morning, princess!!” cheerily called a deep voice from the doorway. Nymphadora groaned.  _ Don’t want to wake up.  _

_ “ _ Nooo.” she burrowed deeper into the covers. 

“Come on, chipmunk, breakfast is ready.” she felt a heavy weight settle on the end of her bed. Her father reached under the covers at the foot of her bed. He reached for her feet and gently ran his hand along the sole. 

Nymphadora pulled her knees up to her chest and rolled over, giggling wildly. “Dada!” 

“There’s bacon!” he reached up further, gently squeezing her sides. 

“Stahp it!” Nymphadora gasped, “I’m ticklish!” 

“Then come on down stairs!” her father chuckled, “or else I’ll eat all the bacon!” Nymphadora squealed, “NOOO! I want bacon!” she rolled off the side of the bed landing flat on her face. The fluffy, bubblegum pink rug broke her fall. As though this were a normal routine, she stood right back up without missing a beat. She gallivanted out the door and down the stairs, her father followed in hot pursuit. 

“Is that an elephant trunk I spy?” her father called, chasing her down the hallway. 

Nymphadora trumpeted loudly in response. She reached the kitchen and transformed her trunk back into her regular nose.  She shook her head, ridding her face of the light, tingly feeling that came with morphing. 

“Bacon! Bacon! Bacon!” Nymphadora squealed. She catapulted through the swinging door, first tripping over their pet kneazle, Destructo, who had been sleeping peacefully in one of the rays of sun hitting the floor. She loosed a yell of surprise as she nosedived to the ground. Nymphadora slid the last couple yards across the polished stone floor, right to her mother’s feet. 

Before her daughter hit the ground, Andromeda cast a quick spell, softening her fall, “Good morning to you too, my little hedgehog.” 

“Morning mum,” Nymphadora mumbled into the floor. She pushed against the floor, standing up as if she hadn’t just face planted across the kitchen. “Can I have some bacon please?” she asked politely.

“If you go sit down and eat your pinkie-berries first.” her mother pointed the spatula she was holding at the table, where a bowl of raspberries and cream waited for Nymphadora. 

“Okay!” Nymphadora cheerfully skipped to the table and pulled the chair out from underneath. She jumped happily on to the seat, her body slamming into the chair back. Andromeda rolled her eyes and cast a silent levitation charm, catching the chair and her daughter inches from the ground. 

“Careful, little one.” her mother slowly set the chair back down. 

Nymphadora bowed her head, “thanks mum. Is Smudge okay? I don’t see him.”

Andromeda pointed her spatula at the large kneazle sunning himself in the same spot as if nothing significant enough had happened to make him move. “Little Smudge is fine. He’s right where he was before.” 

“Oh, okay.” she said through a mouthful of raspberry. “These are good pinkie-berries.” 

“Have you finished?” Andromeda asked, levitating a piece of bacon from the pan and having it hover right behind her daughter who was oblivious. 

She turned around in her chair, “Ye-EEEEP!” Nymphadora squealed, snatching the bacon out of the air and wolfing it down. “Can I have some more?” 

“Of course you can!” her mother chuckled, levitating another few pieces over to her. 

“Hopefully you saved some for me!” her father chortled. He strode into the kitchen, carrying the daily prophet and some muggle newspaper.

“Morning da!” Nymphadora mumbled through her bacon. 

“Morning little elephant!” he reached across the table and poked her nose as he sat down. 

“Daaaaaad!” she whined, “I’m not an elephant!” 

Mr. Tonks ignored her, staring intently at something in the daily prophet. “‘Dromeda dear, did you see the prophet this morning?” 

“No, why?” She asked, sending another few pieces of bacon flying at Mr. Tonks and Nymphadora. 

“The Lupin boy has been bitten.” he muttered quietly. 

“What’s that mean?” Nymphadora asked loudly. 

“Something you aren’t going to understand for a long time yet.” her mother glared at Ted, “isn’t that right, Theodore?” 

“Quite right.” He flipped a few pages nervously. 

“If he was bitten, does that mean he hurted?” Nymphadora queried. 

“Yes, it means he was hurt really bad.” Ted responded, peering over the paper at his wife. When she didn’t react, he felt it safe to continue, “a bad man hurt a young boy, and the boy is very sick now because of it.” 

“Did they catch the bad man?” Nymphadora tried to whisper, but it came out as loud as her normal voice was, her father chuckled at her attempt. 

“They caught him, but it’s more complicated than that. This man is powerful and he--” Mr. Tonks stopped mid sentence. 

Andromeda had sent a piece of bacon flying at his face, and stuffing itself into his mouth, effectively silencing him. “That’s enough,  _ dear. _ ” she emphasized the final word. 

“Very well, but she needs to learn about  _ Him  _ sometime soon.” Mr. Tonks frowned. 

“She’s only two and a half! You can’t expect her to be able to understand something like that to a degree where it will matter!” Andromeda half yelled across the kitchen. 

“Our daughter isn’t stupid, she knows more than you think.” Mr. Tonks responded. Nymphadora slipped off the chair and ran out of the kitchen as fast as her small legs would carry her. She really hated to hear her parents fight. She curled herself into a ball on the couch, rocking herself back and forth as she waited for the angered voices of her parents to die down. 

_ Lupin, hurt? I hope he is okay.  _ She thought.  _ Maybe we can give him chocolate, chocolate makes me feel better.  _

***


End file.
